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Safari-Style Porsche 911 E Looks Like It Can Conquer Dakar

There was a time when Porsche was famous for changing the status quo of racing both on and off the track, with plenty of participations that eventually culminated with the legendary 953 and 959 wins at the Paris-Dakar rally in the mid-1980s.
Porsche 911 E Safari-Style 36 photos
Photo: DriverSource
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A few years before that, the 911 SC Safari made history in Kenya by winning the grueling 5,000-kilometer (3,100-mile) East African Safari Rally.

Various other 911-based rally cars have existed over the years, either as factory entries or in the hands of privateer customers. Not always adhering one hundred percent to the “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” mantra, Porsche has never built a road-going version of its 911 rally cars, though.

Some Porsche customers did their own versions of how an off-road 911 should look, and we recently found one of the coolest builds of this nature. To make it even more interesting, the car in question is a unique 911 garage find that has had a single owner for no less than 44 years.

Starting life as a Porsche 911 E in 1969, the model was originally painted Conda Green and had a black upholstery. In the first few years, it was modified with period off-roading parts and upgraded to its current shade of silver.

The modifications include Minilite wheels made in 1975, a custom rear window louver, bullet side mirrors, vinyl Recaro seats with Blaupunkt-Recaro speakers integrated into the headrests, a CB radio, and antennas. Last but certainly not least, the factory-raised suspension makes it look like a distant cousin to the 911 SC Safari that demolished its racing competition in Kenya in 1978.

The car was for sale last year in Houston, after it was apparently discovered in a garage in New England, where it had been stowed since circa 1982. It still has the original 1969 tool kit, jack, and spare tire. It's powered by a number-matching 2.2-liter flat-six with 155 horsepower, which may not sound like much until you remember the original 911 weighed just a little over a ton.
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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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