Porsche 911 Dakar excels in sand, snow, and gravel tests

MANILA: Porsche introduced the new 911 Dakar, a very special version of the legendary 911, at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 16. The Porsche 911 Dakar is the first two-door sports car to come with exceptional off-road capabilities.

The model name pays homage to Porsche's historic first-place finish in the Paris-Dakar rally. The game-changing victory happened in 1984 in a modified Porsche 911 that was the first to be equipped with an all-wheel-drive system.

The development engineers, led by General Project Manager Achim Lamparter, did not just limit their testing to extensive usage of the off-road proving grounds in Weissach. In fact, the Porsche 911 Dakar was pushed through its limits by the development team during more than 500,000 kilometers of testing in rough terrain, including more than 10,000 kilometers off-road. The car's handling on normal rally courses and the suspension were tested at the Chateau de Lastours test track in southern France. Kilometers of loose surfaces truly put the Porsche 911 Dakar to the test.

“All Dakar teams come here to test their cars in Europe before the rally.” Porsche works driver Romain Dumas said. He initially found it strange that he was required to drive a new Porsche 911 at Chateau de Lastours, of all places, but the astonishment instantly turned into admiration for the Dakar's impressive off-road performance. The chassis handled jumps without an issue because of its durable construction and higher ground clearance. The Porsche 911 Dakar also handled sweeping drifts with ease.

“I knew what a 911 could do on the road but I was absolutely stunned by how well the car performed here on the loose,” Dumas stated.

Two-time world rally champion Walter Rohrl could not pass up the chance to test drive the Porsche 911 Dakar at the extensive testing facility in Arjeplog, Sweden. Instead of pure sheet ice, the thick ice of the frozen lakes provides Porsche test drivers with the ideal basis for an almost 90% closed compacted snow surface.

“The car is incredibly fun to drive. Everything works so precisely and calmly. No Porsche customer will believe all the things you can do with this car before they’ve driven it themselves,” Rohrl said.

The Porsche 911 Dakar also had to show itself on sand tracks and high dunes. Test drivers repeatedly pushed the off-road sports car up steep 50-meter dunes in temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius in Dubai and Morocco.

“The 911 Dakar delivered a commanding performance even in the desert. Especially here, the 911 Dakar can make the most of its conceptual advantages – the combination of low weight, higher ground clearance, a powerful rear-mounted engine, and the short wheelbase make for an exhilarating driving experience. I was able to experience it myself on test drives in the Sahara,” Porsche Vice President for Model Line 911/718 Frank Moser stated.

As part of the car's development, Porsche brand ambassador Jorg Bergmeister was also given the opportunity to test the Porsche 911 Dakar. He was impressed by how well the unusually high-riding sports car handled both loose ground and asphalt. “I wouldn’t have thought that a vehicle with such ground clearance and all-terrain tires would still feel like a Porsche 911 on asphalt,” he said.

Also surprised during the final fine-tuning drives, development driver Lars Kern said, “At first, I didn’t have the nerve to push the car to its limits but I am very satisfied with the handling on loose surfaces. Even the ABS is optimized for braking on gravel. It’s amazing how much traction the off-road tires deliver. The car is a blast to drive.”

Photos from Porsche

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