This one is a must-have.
The new Porsche 911 model is coming soon, but it won’t be another track-special. Instead, it’s designed to continue on when the pavement ends. Porsche finally plans to build an off-road-capable 911 that you can buy from the factory after decades of watching the aftermarket profit on the Porsche 911 “Safari” trend. Porsche could call this new trim the 911 Safari instead.
Porsche’s history is rooted in rally racing. Rally racing was a core part of Porsche’s DNA in the early days of Porsche, and particularly the 911. It sent lightly modified cars to compete against the most difficult races on Earth. The East African Safari Rally was one example. Sobieslaw Zasada, a Polish rally driver, piloted a modified Porsche 911 to second place in an extremely harsh environment. Zasada had only one support mechanic, and many observers thought that the Porsche 911 was unlikely to place even on the podium. This determined 911 was an icon instead.
Porsche’s rally expertise extended to the creation the 959 Supercar, which was designed for the Group B rally. Porsche 959 Dakar was designed to endure the Paris-Dakar rally, which covers more than 8,000 miles and some of the most remote places on Earth. The Porsche 959 was first and second in the Paris-Dakar rally, with the third Porsche 959 coming in sixth.
It’s difficult to care about the Porsche rally history when it comes to creating an off-road capable 911. The car is so thrilling that it’s difficult to care about the name. 911 Safari or 911 Dakar It doesn’t matter to us as Porsche has enough racing history to warrant separate models with bot names.