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Porsche Launches Historic Decorative Wraps for the 911 Dakar, Which One's Your Favorite?

Upping the game with a real revival of the 911 Safari, christened the 911 Dakar for the modern era, wasn’t enough for Porsche, as they have now introduced three historic decorative wraps for the versatile sports car.
Porsche 911 Dakar 11 photos
Photo: Porsche
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Inspired by the liveries worn by the actual racers in 1971, 1974, and 1978 in the East African Safari Rally, they can be ordered ex-works via Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, or via Porsche Tequipment when it comes to the former two, which cost €4,165 ($4,458) each. The latter, which is the famous Martini racing livery, will set you back €5,950 ($6,368).

Replicating the looks of the 911 S models that entered the 1971 competition in Kenya, racing more than 5,000 km (3,100+ miles) through the challenging terrain, one of the liveries features black decals on the hood, front fenders, and doors. It also adds the #19, an ode to the most successful 911 of this competition, which bagged the fifth place with Polish drivers Sobieslaw Zasada and Marian Bien.

The second livery is a tribute to the 911 Carrera 2.7 RS that was raced in the 1974 East African Safari Rally by Swedish rally champ Björn Waldegård, who had won the Monte Carlo competition twice in a Porsche. Waldegård was assisted by co-driver Hans Thorszelius, and the team managed to grab the silver medal, after a damaged wishbone cost them 72 minutes. Some of the traits of this attire are the blue stripes applied to the white body, albeit with narrower lines in the modern-day interpretation, which features the Porsche logo on the lower edges of the doors.

Last but not least, the most jaw-dropping livery available for the 911 Dakar is the one made famous by the Martini Racing Team. In this instance, it adds the #14 on the doors, a tribute to the 911 SC Group 4 car driven into second place by the South African duo of Vic Preston Jr. and John Lyall in the 1978 competition. A second car entered in the Kenya Rally that same year was driven by Waldegård, but it sustained too much damage to its wishbone, shock absorber, and drive shaft to keep up with the aforementioned one, and the Swede had to settle for the fourth place.

Boasting a jacked-up suspension, protective elements, and a few other things, the all-new Porsche 911 Dakar is the coolest 911 in decades. It builds on the latest iteration, and uses the twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine, making 473 hp (480 ps / 353 kW) and 420 lb-ft (570 Nm) of torque. From 0 to 62 mph (0-100 kph), it needs 3.4 seconds, and top speed has been electronically limited to 150 mph (240 kph) in order to protect those special tires on which it rides. Only 2,500 units of the car will be built, and pricing kicks off at $220,020, before the $1,450 destination charge.
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About the author: Cristian Gnaticov
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After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s.
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