Photo: CarPix
A long time ago, way before Porsche even dreamt of having not one but two all-wheel-drive SUVs in its lineup, there was an era when the Stuttgart sports carmaker was demolishing racing records both on and off the world’s most famous racing tracks.
Younger people might find it hard to believe that Porsche is also an off-roading legend, especially after winning the grueling 5,000 km (3,100 miles) East African Safari Rally in the 1970s with the 911 SC Safari, or the several wins at the Paris-Dakar rally in the mid-80s.
Despite those successes, Porsche has never built road-going versions of its 911 rally cars, leaving the mantra of ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ exclusively for models like the 911 GT3.
That said, a lot of Neunelfer fans and privateers have done various off-road custom builds themselves, all based on the legendary 911.
Porsche must be tired of hearing about such private projects all the time, and even though it is no longer participating in rallies like Dakar with sports car-based racing models, 2021 will apparently be the year when an official 911 Safari version goes officially on sale.
Spied countless times in the last year or so, a peculiar high-riding 911 prototype was caught road testing again in Germany. Unlike previous sightings, the latest one looks like it uses production body parts and wears only a tiny bit of camouflage.
Apart from the obvious much higher ground clearance compared to a regular 911 of the 992 variety, the prototype seems to have a restyled rear bumper, a new arrangement of the two exhaust outlets, and wider fenders all around.
We are especially curious to find out what changes Porsche engineers have done to the suspension, especially since the standard coilover system doesn’t allow ride height adjustments; unless we are talking about the optional nose-lift system, which also makes the car handle like it doesn’t have any suspension anyway as it doesn’t provide any rebound.
The model will obviously be all-wheel-drive, but don’t expect it to be an awesome rock-crawling companion since the attack angles remain those of a lifted 911, not a Macan or a Cayenne.
Engine wise, we are expecting it to feature a similar output of the 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six in the Carrera S and 4S.
Despite those successes, Porsche has never built road-going versions of its 911 rally cars, leaving the mantra of ‘win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ exclusively for models like the 911 GT3.
That said, a lot of Neunelfer fans and privateers have done various off-road custom builds themselves, all based on the legendary 911.
Porsche must be tired of hearing about such private projects all the time, and even though it is no longer participating in rallies like Dakar with sports car-based racing models, 2021 will apparently be the year when an official 911 Safari version goes officially on sale.
Spied countless times in the last year or so, a peculiar high-riding 911 prototype was caught road testing again in Germany. Unlike previous sightings, the latest one looks like it uses production body parts and wears only a tiny bit of camouflage.
Apart from the obvious much higher ground clearance compared to a regular 911 of the 992 variety, the prototype seems to have a restyled rear bumper, a new arrangement of the two exhaust outlets, and wider fenders all around.
We are especially curious to find out what changes Porsche engineers have done to the suspension, especially since the standard coilover system doesn’t allow ride height adjustments; unless we are talking about the optional nose-lift system, which also makes the car handle like it doesn’t have any suspension anyway as it doesn’t provide any rebound.
The model will obviously be all-wheel-drive, but don’t expect it to be an awesome rock-crawling companion since the attack angles remain those of a lifted 911, not a Macan or a Cayenne.
Engine wise, we are expecting it to feature a similar output of the 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six in the Carrera S and 4S.
Google News