The Porsche 911 Dakar was quite an exclusive limited edition of the iconic sports car, known for being able to go fast even off-road but with no compromises regarding on-road characteristics. It had a sale life in the international markets between 2022 and 2024 while production ended for the off-road-ready variant of the 911.
However, the German performance brand is actually said to have plans for the 911 Dakar with the new generation of the model - the current 992.2 version now.
Senior sources have revealed that the updated 911 Dakar is under development at Porsche's Weissach engineering centre. It will form part of the German carmaker's facelifted 992-series (992.2) 911 line-up by the end of this year, at least in markets abroad. Like its predecessor, which had a limited run of 2,500 units, the updated 911 Dakar will be sold in limited numbers.
Whereas the updates on the 911 Dakar will sport the same rough-and-rugged styling as well as the jacked-up appearance as the last, it will be powered by the flat-six hybrid powertrain seen in the 911 Carrera GTS.
Dubbed T-Hybrid by Porsche, the configuration consists of a 485hp, flat-six engine that has an electric turbocharged motor endowed with a 56hp situated at the end of an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The set also applies heat transfer techniques pioneered by Porsche for the 919 in winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans to charge the 1.9kWh battery. The total output in the Porsche 911 GTS is 541hp and 680Nm.
Like the old 911 Dakar twin-turbo flat-six, the new one will have even higher output and torque figures, which translates to a better acceleration performance in 0-100kph than 3.4 seconds set by its predecessor. Besides performance numbers being better, expectations are also there for hybrid systems to contribute to improvement in fuel economy. The new 911 Dakar should feature an 8-speed dual-clutch and four-wheel drive, like the GTS.
Porsche is also working on a new palette of exterior paint colours and other options that will be offered for the new model through its special-orders department dubbed Sonderwunsch (Special Wish).
It remains unclear whether the updated 911 Dakar will be launched in India. The previous Dakar was not offered here, although the 992.2 series 911s are available in Carrera (Rs 1.99 crore) and Carrera 4 GTS (Rs 2.75 crore) variants.
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