Photo: CarPix
Porsche has demonstrated the willingness to break taboos before, and that’s why the upcoming 911 Dakar was not a surprise appearance on the Nordschleife. The future rugged version of the Elfer is still doing rounds on the Nürburgring, and it appears to have an adjustable air suspension.
We’ve seen pictures of rugged 911 prototypes before, but there has been radio silence since our photographers snapped the last one in April. With the launch of the new model planned for the end of the year, we thought the development phase had concluded long ago. It turns out Porsche engineers had a change of heart, and right before production started, they decided to test one more thing.
“One more thing” is sometimes a dramatic pause, the kind that Lt. Colombo would always throw to faze the suspects in a murder investigation. In this case, it might be something we possibly overlooked before: an adjustable air suspension. The latest pictures of a 911 Dakar prototype lapping the Ring clearly show different suspension settings in two consecutive runs.
Specifically, the car’s ride height in the two rounds on the track is different, with much higher ground clearance for the second run. Since both runs were performed without interruption, the only explanation would be an adjustable suspension, which makes sense for the high-riding Dakar version of the 911. There are no other notable modifications to the prototype compared to what we’ve seen before, at least not something obvious.
Although Porsche has flirted before with the idea of an off-road-focused 911, this is the first production model able to tackle more difficult terrains. The Zuffenhausen sportscar maker would want to polish every aspect of the 911 Dakar before its launch, even if this means delaying the debut, which appears to be the case here.
Technical details are scarce, but we bet the all-wheel drive is guaranteed. The engine choice is still a mystery, although judging by the latest Porsche adventure on the slopes of the Ojos del Salado volcano in Chile, the 443-horsepower 3.0-liter flat-six from the Carrera 4S will do just fine. After all, Porsche didn’t go to 6,007 meters (19,708 ft.) with two secret prototypes for nothing.
“One more thing” is sometimes a dramatic pause, the kind that Lt. Colombo would always throw to faze the suspects in a murder investigation. In this case, it might be something we possibly overlooked before: an adjustable air suspension. The latest pictures of a 911 Dakar prototype lapping the Ring clearly show different suspension settings in two consecutive runs.
Specifically, the car’s ride height in the two rounds on the track is different, with much higher ground clearance for the second run. Since both runs were performed without interruption, the only explanation would be an adjustable suspension, which makes sense for the high-riding Dakar version of the 911. There are no other notable modifications to the prototype compared to what we’ve seen before, at least not something obvious.
Although Porsche has flirted before with the idea of an off-road-focused 911, this is the first production model able to tackle more difficult terrains. The Zuffenhausen sportscar maker would want to polish every aspect of the 911 Dakar before its launch, even if this means delaying the debut, which appears to be the case here.
Technical details are scarce, but we bet the all-wheel drive is guaranteed. The engine choice is still a mystery, although judging by the latest Porsche adventure on the slopes of the Ojos del Salado volcano in Chile, the 443-horsepower 3.0-liter flat-six from the Carrera 4S will do just fine. After all, Porsche didn’t go to 6,007 meters (19,708 ft.) with two secret prototypes for nothing.
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