New All-Wheel Drive Porsche 911 Dakar Set for UK

We’ve been heating talk of the pending Porsche 911 Dakar Rally car for some time now. Well, now more details of the rugged Porsche can be revealed. The Porsche 911 Dakar is, put simply, a 2-door Porsche capable of some pretty extreme off-roading. Porsche unveiled the Porsche 911 Dakar on November 16 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and the car itself is an appreciative nod to the vehicle that won the 1984 Paris-Dakar race – a modified Porsche that was the first to get all-wheel drive.

If you so desire, you can spec the car with the Rallye Design Package which replicates the livery of that special race winner. This package gives the car a two-tone White/Gentian Blue Metallic colourway – the first time Porsche has given buyers the chance to own a car in a two-tone livery. The package also includes a choice of race number from 0 – 999. A matching 42kg capacity roof-rack is also available, featuring LED lights and a 12-volt power outlet, plus a roof tent.

A company like Porsche doesn’t enter into such territory lightly, and the off-roader has undergone 10,000km of testing in challenging terrain across the world. It wasn’t all off-road though, and handling was fine-tuned with the assistance of being able to test on the Chateau de Lastours track in the south of France. The result is, Porsche says, a car that is as comfortable off-road as it is on the road.

The Porsche Dakar comes with a full 50mm more ground clearance over the standard 911 Carrera, refined with added sports suspension enabling the car to be raised a further 30mm if required, which really brings it into the territory of an SUV. Power comes from a twin-turbo 3-litre 6-cylinder engine offering up a top speed of around 150mph with a 0-62mph of 3.5 seconds. Top speed has been limited here, with respect to the terrain it is designed for.

Up front, the Porsche Dakar features 19-inch alloys, while at the rear the car gets 20-inchers, again reflecting the intended usage of such a car. Each wheel is clad in specially developed Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus chunky tyres (295/40 ZR at the back and 245/45 ZR up front) with a 9mm deep tread.

The re-sculptured body consists of plastic panels reinforced with carbon-fibre for strength and lightweight, although it does tip the scales at 10kg more than a Carrera. A lightweight battery and lightweight glass also go towards keeping the weight down. Inside the 2-seater Porsche Dakar has the rear taken up with components of the roll cage, making it a pure 2-seater. The seats are trimmed with Shade Green stitching and are constructed with Race-Tex material.

The good news is that this splendid Porsche 911 Dakar will be available to buy in the UK, if you can be patient for a few months until spring 2023. The car will be fairly limited though, with just 2,500 units available at prices starting from £173,000.

Images: porsche.com