Porsche reveals plans of developing more off-road, retro 911s

MANILA: Porsche Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume revealed in an interview with Car Magazine that it is planning to release more retro and off-road 911s in the future.

According to Blume, the Porsche 911 Dakar that was unveiled at the 2022 Los Angeles Auto Show marks the beginning of the expansion of the Porsche 911 range. The Porsche 911 Dakar is the first two-door sports car to come with exceptional off-road capabilities.

Porsche developed rooftop tents, constructed a rally-raid on stilts on the Dakar, and provided ice-driving lessons for the new line of tougher Porsche 911s. It is a deliberate decision to adapt its core model to the harsh elements of nature.

Blume said that the expansion of the Porsche 911 range was inspired by the sportswear industry. “There was a need to bring a car you can drive off-road and, thinking of our product strategy, we have the 911 base, stretching from the entry model to the Turbo S, then we have the very sporty ones, the GT models. We also have the heritage pillar – and there the idea came from the sports industry. We saw the sports shoes from the 1970s and 80s and thought that could work for Porsche too, so we brought the 50th edition and the 60th edition with the Sport Classic. We are considering bringing 1970s and 80s-inspired models too,” he shared.

“Very few global brands are able to bring these successful items from the past and connect them with modern technology, but Porsche can,” Blume added. “We thought ‘Why not a third pillar, besides sporty GT and heritage models? Why not off-road, too?’ When we were thinking about how to position the product and asking if it would be feasible from a technical perspective, it was a stunning process over the past few years. But testing the prototypes, I was so convinced – it had such a good off-road ability. That was the clear point when I decided to go for it. The GT models like the GT2 RS are very focused on motorsport; they are very convincing with their Nordschleife times. The heritage models have a big product content and now, the 911 Dakar has a very high technical level.”

According to Blume, Porsche is modifying its portfolio to meet changing customer demands. “The needs of the different regions of the world are changing: we have different ecosystems in the Eastern world, for example, so we are changing our business focus and offering to our customers what they expect in different regions of the world, and the mindset of customers is also changing, especially looking to the younger generations,” he said.

As Porsche celebrates three important anniversaries this year – the 75th anniversary of the brand, the 60th anniversary of the Porsche 911, and the 80th anniversary of Wolfgang Porsche – Blume said that fans can expect product launches to accompany the anniversary celebrations.

Aside from a range of Dakar-inspired off-road sports cars, Porsche is planning to develop a “very sporty hybrid” Porsche 911 and a next-generation Porsche hypercar.

Photos from Porsche

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