DUNE BUGGY

THE 911 DAKAR HARNESSES THE SPIRIT OF ITS RALLY-DOMINATING ANCESTORS.

- MATT FARAH

AFRICA IS VAST  in every way imaginable—lots of land, lots of people, and vast natural resources. Roughly 1.4 billion people live there, but many Americans know little about its geography. Dakar, for instance, isn’t just the capital of Senegal, it’s also the westernmost large city on the continent. And now it’s a name Porsche has appended to the newest 911 model.

A few months ago, Porsche asked me this: “Would you like to fly to Morocco and drive the new 911 Dakar in the Sahara on some of the course once used for the Paris-Dakar Rally?” Already fascinated by Porsche’s heritage and success with 911s in that epic rally through Europe and North Africa, I answered without hesitation. That you’re reading this story indicates my response. I was about to learn a little about Africa and a lot about the latest 911.

Some privileged motorsport-grade names—Walter Röhrl, Jacky Ickx—have driven 911s in rallies, from rear-drive variants (on which a Keen Project Safari is modeled) to the beloved 953 and the spectacular 959. Maybe you haven’t heard of the 953— it ran the Paris-Dakar Rally only once, in 1984, with René Metge piloting it to victory. It used the 911’s first experimental four-wheel-drive system, which evolved into the civilian 911 Carrera 4.