We were all rather surprised in November 2022 when we first saw the Porsche 911 Dakar, a proper factory-built off-road special based on Porsche’s long-running sports car. We’re a lot less surprised now, in November 2024, that it’s going out of production.
After all, we knew from the word go that Porsche was only ever going to build 2500 Dakars, and this is number 2500. As you can see, it’s had a bit more than just a box ticked for metallic paint on the configurator.
Porsche 911 Dakar – rear
In fact, it’s been given a bespoke paint job by Porsche’s Sonderwunsch – literally ‘Special Request’ – personalisation division. The scheme consists of Signal Yellow up top and Gentian Blue on the bottom half, divided by an accent line in an all-new Porsche hue called Lampedusa Blue.
It’s an evolved version of the Dakar’s Rallye Design Package, which itself nods to the Rothmans-liveried 911 that won the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally – minus any naughty cigarette branding, obviously.
Porsche 911 Dakar – interior
This blue and yellow theme continues onto the car’s wheels, as well as the interior, where the largely black upholster is offset by flashes of Signal Yellow and Lampedusa Blue.
Otherwise, though, the car is unchanged from the regular Dakar. That means a 473bhp 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six driving all four wheels through an eight-speed PDK gearbox, essentially the same recipe found in the pre-facelift 911 Carrera 4 GTS. Where it differs are the beefier arches, 50mm higher ride height and all-terrain rubber.
Porsche 911 Dakar – side
Before heading off to its Italian owner, this very special Dakar is spending a bit of time on display at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart. As for the Dakar model itself, we don’t know if it’ll ever return. Porsche is currently in the process of refreshing the sprawling 911 range with a mid-life facelift, but as the Dakar was a special, limited-run deal, we’re not sure it’ll make a comeback any time soon. Perhaps, in another few years when there’s an all-new 911, we might see something similar.
