{"id":30079,"date":"2022-11-17T14:01:46","date_gmt":"2022-11-17T18:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=30079"},"modified":"2022-11-17T14:01:46","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T18:01:46","slug":"la-auto-show-lifted-473-hp-porsche-911-dakar-joins-the-off-road-craze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2022\/11\/la-auto-show-lifted-473-hp-porsche-911-dakar-joins-the-off-road-craze","title":{"rendered":"LA Auto Show: Lifted, 473-hp Porsche 911 Dakar joins the off-road craze"},"content":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Off-roading is all the rage. Led by the Jeep Wrangler vs. Ford Bronco cage match, brands are introducing ever-more capable weapons to feed our thirst for the Outback. There\u2019s the V8-powered Wrangler 392 with detachable sway bars and 470 horsepower. Or the Bronco Raptor with size 37-inch tires and Fox shocks. The 702-horse Ram TRX (pronounced T-rex) or V8-powered, 700-horse Ford Raptor R or 1,000 horsepower, all-wheel-steer GMC Hummer EV.<\/p>\n

How bonkers is America for lifted, mud-slinging hellions? Porsche just got into the act.<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s premier sports car maker introduced the first off-road version of its flagship 911 on Wednesday. It\u2019s called the Dakar. Named after the Paris-to-Dakar rally that Porsche\u2019s racing team famously won in 1984 and 1986 in the first all-wheel-drive application of the 911, the \u00a0Dakar represents the first lifted, off-the-grid production sports car in the brand\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Like the 2024 Ford Mustang in Hart Plaza before the September Detroit auto show, the 911 Dakar has dropped the mike on the LA Auto Show before it even got started.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday is the rebirth of this Porsche icon,\u201d said Porsche chairman Oliver Blume as the wraps came off the sports car in the LA Convention Center. \u201cWe are happy to premiere it here in the United States, our second home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 911 Dakar looks familiar at first, with its signature coupe shape, round headlamps, and shrieking, 473-horsepower, 420-torque, twin-turbo flat-6 GTS engine. But look more closely and this track weapon has been heavily modified for the dirt.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Porsche takes a page right out of the Motown marauders\u2019 book, putting its all-wheel-drive system to good use off-road, then lifting the car 3.14 inches over the standard 911 for a ride height of 7.4 inches \u2014 comparable to a Porsche Cayenne SUV in its highest, Off-Road Mode setting. Porsche then wraps the 19-inch front\/20-inch rear wheels with big, 28-inch front\/29-inch rear Pirelli Scorpion all-terrain tires. The tires feature reinforced sidewalls and dual-carcass treads.<\/p>\n

The car is also distinguished by front and rear tow hooks and black fender guards to ward off rocks. Dakar, meet Rubicon.<\/p>\n

\"You'll<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The Porsche is accessorized to the gunwales with available roof rack, night lights, spare gas and water canisters, folding shovels and roof tent (what, no snorkel?). The sports car will be offered with an optional Rallye Design Package inspired by the Dakar winning car of 1984 \u2014 complete with your choice of number from 1 to 999 (the winning 1984 car was #176). It even betters its Detroit peers by putting a 12-volt plug for accessories (think roof lights) on the roof where a shark-fin antennae normally resides.<\/p>\n

With a limited edition of 2,500 cars, the Porsche 911 Dakar won\u2019t come cheap, even by the standards of the $110,295 Hummer EV. When it arrives at dealers next spring, the rally supercar will carry a sticker price of $223,450.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

The 911 Dakar underwent more than 6,000 miles of off-road testing, beginning with the off-road proving grounds in Weissach, Germany. Then it hit the trails. Like the 1984 rally-winning 911 before it, the 911 Dakar went to the Ch\u00e2teau de Lastours test track in southern France to help fine-tune the suspension for off-road rallying.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll Dakar teams go there to test their cars in Europe before the rally,\u201d said Porsche race driver Romain Dumas, who is the veteran of seven Dakar rallies in various off-road beasts. \u201cI knew what a 911 could do on the road, but I was stunned by how well the car performed on loose surfaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

The eight-speed, dual-clutch automatic-equipped 911 Dakar accelerates from 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds in true breakneck Porsche fashion using a special \u201cRallye Launch Control\u201d mode to enable better grip on loose surfaces. Top speed? Limited to 150 mph due to the all-terrain tires.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

But the key to its off-road performance is its rugged Scorpion rubber, remade suspension, rear-axle steering, and Rallye and Off-Road drive modes. In particular, Dumas likes Rallye Mode, which enables the 911 to tackle sand and loose gravel with abandon.<\/p>\n

Only two bucket seats are available inside for passengers \u2014 the rear seats have been deleted for light weight. Dakar’s curb weight \u2014 3,552 pounds \u2014 is just 16 pounds more than its sibling Carrera 4 GTS.<\/p>\n

\"No<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Two-time world rally champion Walter R\u00f6hrl put the car through additional testing on the ice in Sweden, then the team went to the 160-foot dunes and extreme, 113-degree heat of the Dubai and Moroccan deserts. It should be right at home alongside Jeeps and Broncos at Holly Oaks ORV park in Michigan. For all its off-road chops, however, the Dakar is still meant to be a daily driver even on its standard all-terrain tires.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t have thought that a vehicle with such ground clearance and all-terrain tires would still feel like a Porsche 911 on asphalt,\u201d said racing ace J\u00f6rg Bergmeister.<\/p>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Los Angeles\u00a0\u2014 Off-roading is all the rage. Led by the Jeep Wrangler vs. Ford Bronco cage match, brands are introducing ever-more capable weapons to feed our thirst for the Outback. There\u2019s the V8-powered Wrangler 392 with detachable sway bars and 470 horsepower. Or the Bronco Raptor with size 37-inch tires and Fox shocks. The 702-horse […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30079"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30079"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30080,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30079\/revisions\/30080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}