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Spotted on PCH today... it was tailed by a Panamera so looks like they are just driving around all week in Los Angeles doing some sort of validation testing.
This is clearly the modern-day equivalent of the 953 (911 4x4 used as a technological test bed for the 959), the production version (959) came 2 years later. I anticipate that the 911 Dakar/Safari will come in 2024 which will coincide with the 40 year anniversary of the 953, only time will tell if I'm right.
Last edited by Porsche_959; 11-04-2022 at 08:21 PM.
Unfortunately, according to the german magazine Auto Motor und Sport , the DAKAR would be an Heritage model ... with limited supply and priced accordingly.
Here is the original text:
The 911 Dakar will be on display at the "Icons of Porsche," a local auto show in Dubai (Nov. 26 and 27). Porsche announced this back in September in a veiled way: "In addition to celebrating the past, the festival will also focus on the latest addition to the Porsche model range. The new model, which is making its regional debut, is positioned to become another iconic ... ... Its unveiling during the festival will showcase how Porsche creates unexpected, novel and unconventional brand moments." According to Porsche insiders, the Dakar 911 will make its big debut a little earlier at the L.A. Auto Show. Presumably, the model will be one of the pending Heritage vehicles (Porsche 911 Targa and Porsche 911 Sport Classic), which are modern interpretations of legendary Porsches - these versions are usually strictly limited and available for immediate purchase.
Porsche Board Member for Sales and Marketing Detlef von Platen also said back in 2018, "The 911 is the design centerpiece at Porsche and has an influence on other vehicles. But taking the 911 and turning it into an SUV? Raise it higher? That could be a good idea, but is not a model series in its own right, instead a very limited niche product."
And the desire for a higher-slung Porsche never quite died down, and in recent years the trend toward off-road 911s with fat tires has been increasing. Most recently, there was a 911 Syberia RS that H&R was involved in, in 2019 a rather unknown Restomod company put out a Baja Porsche, and even tuner Delta 4x4 took a current 4S to race the Dakar with it.
At the end of 2020, Porsche had also given a glimpse of never-published studies as part of its Unseen series. The Porsche 911 Vision Safari from 2012 was also on display there, a higher-slung 911 with a Martini Racing look. And just recently, rally legend Walter Röhrl is said to have used the hashtag "Dakar" in an Instagram post about the prototype that was quickly deleted.
In the fall of 2020, the Zuffenhausen-based company spoke of the crossover 911 "currently" not being an issue. Now, a few months later, things probably look different. The 911 Dakar will become a reality, limited and celebrating its premiere as early as November 2022.
I will take this. Have you seen the damn potholes these days. I drive about 15K miles per year. I am surprised whatever the act got passed to fix infrastructure isn't fixing my local roads at all.
Let's hope that production model will not be a numbered edition and will have the fancy transmission that the article is mentioning " Porsche Warp-Connecter "
11-04-2022, 02:17 PM
