THE WILD One

Porsche recently launched its fiercest 911 ever, the Dakar, inspired by the 1984 Paris-Dakar winning Porsche 953. Stuttgart's first two door off-road production vehicle is so good GQ Motoring Editor Dieter Losskarn had to be forcibly removed from it after surfing the Morocco Sahara Desert sand

THIS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT

THE MOST AFRICAN 911 EVER MADE
– and just in time for the 75th anniversary of Porsche sportscars. I still remember clips, photos and posters in my youth, in which modified 911s did battle in the Sahara and West and East Africa. Tuners took regular 911s and turned them into individualised Safarirally cars for customers. Now, Porsche has built its first-ever two-door off-roader with four wheel drive: the 911 Dakar, heavily inspired by the 953’s overall victory in the gruelling 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally.

Proving there are no limits to the concept of the 911, the brand-new Dakar is equally as fast off road as the GT3 RS is on racetracks. Unfortunately, its production run is limited to 2 500 units worldwide. Customers can choose between two “plain” colours and several rally wraps, the most famous being the Rallye Design Package, with “Rough-roads lettering”, instead of Rothmans, as on the original, due to the banning of cigarette advertising on cars.