2023 Porsche 911 Dakar makes you want more

Porsche boss Oliver Blume said last December that the new 911 Dakar might not be a one-off, but the first of several off-road sports cars. After two days of sliding over gravel surfaces and kicking up huge clouds of sand in the Moroccan desert, all I can say is: Please – please – carry on!

The Porsche 911 Dakar is absurd in the best sense of the word. Based on the 911 Carrera 4 GTS, the Dakar has a 2.0-inch higher ride height, making room for stronger dampers and longer links that allow for more wheel travel. Thick 245/45ZR19 front and 295/40ZR20 rear tires with 9 mm tread depth, behind which sit the iron-clad 13.8-inch front brakes with 6-piston calipers and 13.0-inch rear brakes with 4-piston calipers the 911 Carrera S (carbon ceramic is not available). The nose, tail and side skirts of the 911 Dakar coupe all have stainless steel skid plates to keep drivers from wrecking expensive hardware if they hit a rock too hard, and the 911’s front end has been reshaped to to improve the angle of departure of the Dakar. So go ahead, go to the mountains.

Porsche removed the Carrera GTS’ central radiator to create that extra front-end leverage, so the 911 Dakar uses a new cooling system with a pair of 650-watt fans borrowed from the 911 Turbo. The air intakes and filters have also been upgraded to deal with the extra dust and dirt that the Dakar will no doubt encounter, and Porsche has tested this configuration in the desert in temperatures in excess of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, so they’re capable will to cope with the most brutal of climates. Conversely, I can’t wait to get one of these things out in the snow either.

A hydraulic suspension lift is standard and raises the Dakar’s body an additional 1.2 inches when activated for a total of 7.5 inches of ground clearance. This is essentially just a duplicated version of the nose lift system Porsche uses on other 911 models, with the second hydraulic system flipped and mounted on the rear axle. To pack this rear lift kit, Porsche had to remove the rear seats from the 911 Dakar, but come on, it’s not like you’re going to use those anyway.

In its higher setting, the 911 Dakar offers approach, departure and roll angles of 16.1, 18.2 and 19.0 degrees respectively. No, that doesn’t mean the Porsche can compete with Jeep Wranglers and Ford Broncos, but that’s hardly the point. Instead, the 911 Dakar can cruise effortlessly over rocks and sand, and climb relatively steep inclines without producing expensive-sounding scrapes at the bottom of the hill or as it climbs.

Despite all the extra equipment, the 911 Dakar weighs a total of 3,552 pounds, just 16 pounds more than an equivalent Carrera 4 GTS. The lack of rear seats contributes greatly to this diet, but Porsche also equips the 911 Dakar with a carbon fiber hood, roof and rear spoiler. In fact, the bonnet is borrowed from the 911 GT3, ugly nostrils and all.

The overall design of the Dakar is certainly polarizing and I really think how attractive it is depends on how it’s ordered. The various retro paintwork options look cool, and you have to admit that this thing looks totally at home with a martini paint job bombarding through the warm Saharan desert sands. On the other hand I really hate that the mock Rothmans livery says “Roughroads” and to be honest I’d probably skip the Rally livery package altogether and stick with a single color body. Don’t forget that the Porsche rainbow of paint-to-sample shades can be applied to the 911 Dakar. Be sure to check out the Techquipment catalog for roof baskets, tents and other accessories that will eat every last dollar in your savings account.

The Dakar’s rear-axle-mounted 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-6 engine takes over the Carrera 4 GTS unchanged, producing 473 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque. With a standard 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and all-wheel drive, Porsche says the 911 Dakar will launch to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, which is the same time as a rear-wheel drive Carrera GTS. In other words, it’s damn fast.

Should you hit the gas on dirt or gravel – and believe me you should – be sure to use the new Rallye Launch Control feature, which allows for 20% more wheel spin than normal. This really makes the 911 Dakar easier to control when thrown off the line on rough surfaces. Plus, it looks cool in action. Really really cool.

The 911 Dakar uses a variable all-wheel drive with torque distribution between the front and rear axles, which changes depending on the selected driving mode and degree of traction, among other things. Rally mode gives AWD programming a stronger rear axle, so you’ll want to use this when zipping around on the gravel. Disable traction control entirely by pressing and holding the PSM switch on the dash, and the Dakar will let you drift to your heart’s content, with the heavy compound Pirelli Scorpion All-Terrain Plus tires ensuring you don’t rip the rubber to pieces blow as you glide over rocky roads.

Things get really interesting in off-road mode as it locks the 911 Dakar into an even 50/50 front/rear torque split. This gives the coupe the power it needs to stay strong through soft sand. Put your foot steadily on the accelerator and you don’t have to worry about getting stuck. With the Dakar’s standard torque vectored rear axle still active in this mode, lateral power transfer keeps the rear of the 911 alive, meaning you can drift up the sides of the dunes like a surfer catching a wave .

Anyone who buys a 911 Dakar and doesn’t drive it off-road is a real party muffle; this thing wants to get dirty. The strong performance of the flat-six engine keeps the Dakar through tough situations, and the Rally and Off-Road modes change the transmission programming to ensure the engine hums longer in the heart of its rev range. On the gravel, in the dunes—hell, even hopping over desert piles—driving the Dakar never fails to make me laugh. It’s just so thoroughly ridiculous. That’s the best compliment, by the way.

On the paved roads between Porsche’s sandy Moroccan proving ground and the desert airport at Errachidia, the Dakar feels much like any other 911, only thanks to louder tire noise and a little springier. But given the longer-travel suspension and tough rubber, that’s to be expected. Body movements are a little more exaggerated than one would normally expect from a 911, but attributes like great steering and strong braking power are still intact.

The Carrera GTS’ active suspension (PASM), adjustable damper settings, torque vectoring and rear-wheel steering have all been recalibrated to accommodate the Dakar’s new geometry, but the whole experience is still quintessentially the 911. When you’re on the road Top priority, Porsche offers summer tires as a free option, but they totally defeat the point of the Dakar. please don’t be the Person.

The interior of the Dakar isn’t all that different from other 911 models, apart from a special badge on the passenger-side dashboard. The all-carbon fiber bucket seats that Porsche offers in the GT3 are standard on the Dakar, although you can swap them out for 18-way adjustable chairs if you want a little less support and a lot more comfort. (It’s also a $0 upgrade.) Multimedia duties are handled by Porsche’s latest communications management software, which now finally includes both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

Everything about the 911 Dakar package is super desirable, but its price tag makes it almost unaffordable for mere mortals. Although based on the $151,350 Carrera 4 GTS, the 911 Dakar starts at $223,450, including a $1,450 destination charge, putting it on the same footing in the 911 hierarchy as the GT3 RS. Then again, what other 911 – or any sports car for that matter – can be that good off-road?

Porsche will offer 2,500 examples of the 911 Dakar worldwide, and it’s unclear exactly how many will come to the US. The first run of the cars will all be 2023 models, but as production is expected to last throughout the year, some Dakars will technically carry over to the 2024 model year. The real question is: what happens after that?

I have no doubt that Porsche will sell every single 911 Dakar it builds, and fast. It’s a wild and rowdy thing that deserves all the attention it gets, and based on the success of “Safari” 911s from aftermarket tuners like Ruf and Singer, demand probably won’t let up. Perhaps a Dakar based on the 911 Turbo is the next logical step, especially since the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato will soon be a stunner off-road as well. But no matter where Porsche goes from here, I just hope this Dakar isn’t the last.

– by Steven Ewing

Porsche paid for the airfare and hotel accommodations for the Motor Authority to bomb the Moroccan desert and bring you this first-hand account.