2023 Porsche 911 Dakar review: International first drive

After nearly 60 years of production, the world’s most enduring and celebrated sports car has been transformed into a high-riding four-wheel-drive performance off-roader fit to traverse gravel roads, sandy deserts, and other rugged parts of the outback.

It is a move Thomas Krickelberg, director of the 2023 Porsche 911 Dakar, says was spawned by fond memories of the German carmaker’s celebrated Paris-Dakar Rally winning 953 and 959.

But unlike those two specialty rally models from Porsche’s motorsport division, the 911 Dakar has been conceived as a regular production model. It won’t be produced in big numbers. Officially, only 2500 are planned. And with a starting price of $491,400 before on-road costs, or about $140,000 more than the 911 Carrera 4 GTS, in Australia, it’s certainly not going to fit everyone’s taste or budget. 

However, with anticipation surrounding the new model running sky-high, Porsche hints it could eventually become a regular model in its line-up in the future. 

With the necessary financial means and a little bit of luck, you can buy a 911 Dakar and drive it every day, which I assure you is what you’ll want to do. Because, it is brilliant.

We know this after travelling to remote parts of Morocco late last month to test the new Porsche model, which comes in a variety of retro paint schemes as part of an optional Rallye Design Package, including a particularly alluring throwback to the Rothmans livery used by the victorious 953 and 959 at the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1984 and 1986.

The basis for the 911 Dakar is the 911 Carrera 4 GTS, alongside which it is produced at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen factory on the outskirts of Stuttgart in Germany. However, the changes, as you can see, are quite extensive.

Included within a toughened exterior is a new front bumper with large air ducts either side and an integrated metal kick plate. Further back, there’s a carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic bonnet borrowed from the 911 GT3, protective plastic cladding within each of the wheel arches, new-look sills underneath the doors, a uniquely styled fixed carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic rear spoiler, and a new rear bumper with integrated tailpipes and a central metal kick plate. There are also two prominent red towing eyes made of forged aluminium front and rear.

With an adjustable suspension, the maximum approach, departure and breakover angles are put at 16.1, 18.2 and 19.0 degrees respectively – figures similar to more off-road-oriented versions of the larger Porsche Cayenne, no less. 

Added to all this are standard 19-inch (front) and 20-inch (rear) wheels. They come as standard with 245/45 R19 (front) 295/40 R20 (rear) profile Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tyres with 9mm of tread depth, reinforced sidewalls and twin carcass construction, giving the new 911 model a fittingly rugged look.

The off-road tyres were only made standard after Porsche was convinced of their rolling refinement. “We initially only planned to offer summer and winter tyres as standard, with all-terrains as an option. But after a test session in southern France, we decided to drive a group of prototypes fitted with all-terrains back to Stuttgart. They were surprisingly quiet, with much lower levels of road noise than we expected over long journeys. From that point on, we opted to make them standard,” says Krickelberg.

Pirelli P-Zero summer and winter tyres, also developed for the 911 Dakar, are available as an option.

To further perpetuate the 911 Dakar’s off-road prowess, it also has an optional roof rack with integrated driving lights and a range of other stylised options, including traction boards, fuel and water canisters and a folding shovel. There’s even a 12-volt connector within the rear section of the roof. But with the maximum roof load put at just 42kg, there is a limit to what you can stow up top. 

One item you might consider for the roof rack is a spare wheel and tyre, because apart from the boot, there’s no provision to house one anywhere else.

The Rallye Design Package mentioned earlier is sold through Porsche Exclusive. It consists of a two-tone paint finish – the first ever offered by Porsche, additional red and gold rally stripes, a race number on the doors and white painted wheels. Like the car, though, it comes at a high price. Exact details are not yet available but going on the European pricing, expect to pay up to $30,000 for the retro look. Other, less expensive decal sets based around Porsche’s entrants in the 1971, 1974 and 1978 East African Safari Rally are also available.

The changes to the interior are rather less apparent and dramatic than those made to the exterior; there are standard bucket seats with integrated headrests up front, while the rear seats have been removed completely and replaced with carpeting to provide additional load carrying space to the 132L of luggage room underneath the bonnet. In a move that helps it achieve a kerb weight of 1605kg – or just 10kg more than the 911 Carrera 4 GTS, Porsche has also given the 911 Dakar lightweight glass, synthetic RaceTex upholstery and a lithium-ion battery as standard. 

An optional Rallye Sport Package turns the new 911 into a proper off-road racer, with a roll cage, six-point seat belts and a fire-extinguisher.

Power comes from the same rear-mounted turbocharged 3.0-litre horizontally opposed six-cylinder petrol engine as that used by the latest 911 Carrera 4 GTS. It borrows its dynamic engine mounts from the 911 GT3 to reduce engine load changes through the body structure, delivering 353kW at 6500rpm and 570Nm of torque between 2300 and 5000rpm.

Porsche has altered the cooling system, doing away with the central radiator used in other 911 models to protect against stone strikes during off-road driving. It is supplanted by two larger radiators either side within a modified front end.

Drive is channelled through a standard eight-speed Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) gearbox with steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles. There’s also a fully variable four-wheel-drive system capable of apportioning up to 100 per cent of the engine’s reserves to either the front or rear wheels when necessary. It comes in combination with Porsche Traction Management (PTM) and Porsche Torque Vectoring (PTV) Plus – systems that allow the amount of drive to each rear wheel to be varied depending on the driving conditions. 

All up, there are four driving modes: Normal and Sport as well as Rallye and Off-road – the latter two unique to the 911 Dakar and featuring a launch-control function designed to provide maximum traction on loose surfaces.

Porsche claims a 0–100km/h on-road time of 3.4sec. 0–200km/h takes just 12.0sec. Top speed, meanwhile, is limited to 240km/h due to the standard all-terrain tyres. Given the performance potential, the average consumption is a creditable 11.2L/100km on the WLTP cycle, equating to CO2 emissions of 256g/km.

The suspension of the 911 Dakar retains the same double-wishbone front and multi-link rear design as the 911 Carrera 4 GTS. But, again, there are a host of changes, including tracks that have been widened by 28mm to 1617mm up front and by 15mm to 1572mm at the rear. In combination with the all-terrain tyres, they give the new model a great stance.

The springs and dampers are also new. They provide an added 9.6mm of wheel travel at 74.8mm up front and an extra 6.2mm at 64.8mm at the rear. Overall, there’s 50mm more ground clearance than the 911 GTS at 161mm in both Normal and Sport driving modes. When you switch into Rallye and Off-road modes, a lift system increases this by a further 30mm at speeds up to 170km/h, giving the 911 Dakar a maximum 191mm of ground clearance. 

Porsche says the spring rates are a significant 50 per cent softer than those used by other 911 models.

Porsche’s Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) system comes as standard. It uses electro-mechanical actuation of the roll bars to keep the body level during cornering and over rough roads. Additionally, the 911 Dakar also receives rear-wheel steering.  It’s the same system used by the 911 GTS, steering the rear wheels in the opposite direction to the front wheels at speeds of up to around 50km/h, and then in the same direction above 80km/h.

The brakes mate 350mm steel discs with six-piston callipers up front and 350mm discs with four-piston callipers at the rear.

The 911 Dakar’s performance is scintillating, both in outright force and acoustic intensity. The raised ride height and various stylistic changes, including the uniquely styled rear wing, have done few favours to the overall aerodynamics, endowing it with a drag coefficient of 0.35. However, any lingering doubts about its ability to deliver the same compelling driving qualities as the 911 GTS Carrera 4 are immediately cancelled out by the athletic nature of its engine, which always feels strong and terrifically willing.

The turbocharged six-cylinder is quick to react and revs with real intent, providing rapid acceleration in lower gears. It is never peaky, though. Torque builds strongly, endowing the high-riding coupe with outstanding flexibility. It is perfectly happy to pull taller gears when cruising along at typical highway speeds, at which it is remarkably subdued. 

An altogether louder and meaningful soundtrack is never far away, though. A tap or two of the steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles sees it shed gear ratios and quickly has the rear-mounted 3.0-litre power plant humming with a characteristic deep mechanical blare. 

The PDK gearbox of the early 911 Dakar we drove occasionally suffered from some light shunt when picking up revs in taller gears and during downchanges at low speeds. It was never a big issue while roaming through Morocco, but the dual-clutch unit lacked the slick action we’ve experienced from what is essentially the same gearbox in the 911 GTS. 

There is no concern about traction, though. The new Porsche model’s ability to deploy its reserves to the road surface, be it bitumen, gravel, sand or a combination of all three, is a major strength and central to its broad range of driving ability. That's thanks to the quick-acting properties of its four-wheel-drive system and driving assistant systems, all of which have been specially calibrated to fit the 911 Dakar’s off-road brief.

The handling is breathtakingly good. Despite the wholesale increase in ground clearance, and with it the overall centre of gravity, the body control is formidable. With a uniquely calibrated PDCC system taking into account the greater ground clearance than other 911 models, there is a remarkable flatness and progressiveness to the way the 911 Dakar corners. 

There’s less grip than more conventionally shod 911 models when you really begin to push on winding roads. But despite the generous tread depth, tall sidewalls and ultra-stiff carcass of the all-terrain tyres, the new model’s cornering ability is very impressive indeed.

The ride is no less striking. Bitumen bound, the reworked suspension deals with bumps with outstanding authority. The new long-travel springs and recalibrated dampers dissipate road shock quickly and effectively, making for impressive long-distance properties in either Normal or Sport modes. There is more tyre roar from the all-terrain tyres than you get in other 911 models, but it is never excessive to the point of being irritating.

It’s a tremendously compelling car to drive. Then you head off-road and discover a whole new side to the 911 and its ability to entertain. 

The 911 Dakar feels right at home being hustled along heavily rutted gravel tracks at speeds of 100km/h and more with stones being flung up into its wheel wells and underbody. Big bumps that you expect to send a nasty jolt through the suspension are devoured within the added travel of the springs and outstanding properties of the dampers. There’s great suppleness to the action of the suspension, with nasty ridges and deep ruts always dealt with in quick and smart manner. 

In Rallye mode, the four-wheel-drive system is programmed to deliver a rear-biased apportioning of power. Off-road mode provides a more balanced delivery of drive between the front and wheel axles, allowing the 911 Dakar to traverse rocky grades and surf sand dunes at speed in a truly impressive manner. 

There are limits to where it will go and the amount of abuse it can handle, of course. But the 911 Dakar’s sheer ability in off-road conditions is paramount to its appeal.

The steering, always a 911 delight, is wonderfully tactile for a car conceived to go off-road. There is loads of feel and supreme gearing from the electro-mechanical system, with additional assistance from the rear-wheel steer function. It allows the 911 Dakar to point with great immediacy and accuracy. It also provides it with a commendably tight turning circle, which comes in handy in tricky off-road conditions.

In the wilds of Morocco, it’s all the convincing you need to reduce the tyre pressures and head cross-country at high speed. Here, the 911 Dakar fully lives up to its name, allowing you to run at high speeds for extended periods on all variety of surfaces and conditions. 

The additional ground clearance and extended ramp angles achieved in Rallye and Off-Road modes provide the tools for it to traverse rock terrain at lower speeds with great authority. 

It is in the dunes where the new Porsche feels at its brilliant best, though. With potent performance and magnificent traction, you can surf the sand with confidence. With a relatively small 67L fuel tank, though, the optional fuel canister is a must for anyone planning to head deep into the outback.

With just two seats and minimal boot capacity, the 911 Dakar lacks the accommodation and outright practicality offered by dedicated performance SUVs. The rather uncompromising bucket seats, with their high sides, also makes it an effort to climb in and out of. But still, the 911 Dakar promises to be a very effective car in city conditions.

The added raised ride height means you’ll never have to worry about scraping the front end on parking garage ramps, taller gutters or speed bumps. The long-travel suspension also provides it with greater everyday comfort than any existing 911 model.

All that aside, you’d buy it for the looks alone. Tough and purposeful but with unmistakable 911 styling cues, it perfectly captures the visual essence of Porsche’s victorious Paris-Dakar rally cars.

It is already the world’s most decorated sports car. Now, the 911’s reach extends well into the performance off-roader ranks as well.