The new Porsche 911 Dakar can do something completely useless

It has been rumored for some time: There will be an off-road Porsche 911. The model will not be called Safari, as we first thought, but Dakar, after the 911’s victory in the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally.

What do we mean by the headline above this story? Well, as you can see from the photos accompanying this story, the new Porsche 911 Dakar has been tested in desert, gravel and snow. According to Porsche, the car passed all these tests with flying colors. That’s nice to hear, but also completely useless.

Off the beaten track with a Porsche 911?

Wait, let’s nuance this. When you bring a badass off-roader onto the market, you have to make sure that it doesn’t tuck in the rear when it hits a rock. After all, there are many people who use their Land Rover Defender or Mercedes G-Class as sturdy workhorses. But a Porsche 911?

Hardly any Porsche customer will try that

Rally legend Walter Röhrl tested the 911 Dakar in Arjeplog, Sweden, where almost all manufacturers do their winter tests. “The car is a lot of fun,” said Röhrl after a session on a frozen lake. “No Porsche customer believes what this car can do.”

We would like to add to this statement by the former driver: There are no Porsche customers who will ever try out what the car can do. The vast majority of SUVs (what will it be in Europe: 95 percent?) never leave the beaten track. And that will be no different with the Porsche 911 Dakar.

Useless or not, the 911 Dakar is so cool

That means: Should we on 31.12. If we have the winning ticket in the state lottery, we immediately sprint to the Porsche dealership to order a Dakar. Because let’s face it: useless or not, a 911 with four-wheel drive and a set of all-terrain tires is irresistible, right?