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Porsche Ends 911 Dakar Production With A Custom Sonderwunsch Model
Two years ago, Porsche officially unveiled a special version of the 911 called the 911 Dakar, designed for all terrains. The production was limited to just 2,500 units. To commemorate the completion of the last unit, Porsche has created a unique 911 Dakar Sonderwunsch.
The car has an exterior with ‘Signal yellow’ and ‘Lampedusablue’ colours, yellow and light blue wheels, as well as a black and yellow interior.
The Porsche 911 Dakar Sonderwunsch will be on display at the Porsche Museum before being delivered to its new home.
Inspired by and named after Porsche’s 1984 victory in the famous Paris-Dakar rally with a specially modified 911, this 911 Dakar has a height-adjustable suspension that helps it cross uneven surfaces (in Off-Road mode it has an extra 80 mm).
The equipment could also include a roof rack (for canister, suitcase and tent), as well as an optional Rallye Design package with a place for the starting number on the vehicle door, which could be in characteristic (Rothmans) colours.
The car is powered by a 3.0-litre six-cylinder bi-turbo engine with 480 hp and 570 Nm of torque, with an 8-speed PDK transmission and four-wheel drive.
Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is 3.4 seconds, while the top speed is limited to 240 km/h.
In the press release, Porsche also highlights the exhausting field tests to which the prototypes were subjected in all conditions, from sand to snow.
Project general manager Achim Lamparter claims the development team covered more than 500,000 km, including 10,000 km off-road to fine-tune the chassis. Some of those kilometres were covered in Dubai and Morocco where test drivers attacked dunes of 50 m in temperatures of up to 45 C, while others were tested on the frozen lakes of Arjeplog in Sweden.
Porsche engineers also tested their prototypes at the Chateau de Lastours track in southern France, where Dakar Rally teams test their vehicles on wide, cobbled tracks.
“This car is incredibly fun to drive,” says Porsche ambassador and former rally champion, Walter Rohrl. “Everything works so precisely and calmly.”
Development driver Lars Kern claims that the 911 Dakar quickly won him over with its performance. “At first I didn’t have the guts to push the car to the limit,” says Kern. “Even the ABS is optimized for braking on gravel. It’s amazing how much grip off-road tyres provide. The car is great to drive.”
