Porsche 911 Dakar Laps Nurburgring In Corner-Cutting Performance

With its softer, longer-travel suspension and off-road-friendly tyres, the Porsche 911 Dakar isn’t exactly the ideal car for carving up the Nurburgring. German publication Sport Auto came up with an idea to claw back some time, though - play it fast and loose with track limits.

This, of course, isn’t something you can do during a normal Touristenfahrten session. As such, when Sport Auto’s Christian Gebhardt took to the Nordschleife in Porsche’s lifted 992, the track was closed, and he had permission from ‘Ring officials to stray well over the white lines.

The result is a fun-to-watch lap that mixes up the usual format very nicely. The time’s impressive, too - 07:39.40, which is about nine seconds off what Gebhardt managed in a 992 911 Carrera S around the ‘Ring a few years ago. And that was on the standard Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain tyres, which can be frequently heard howling in protest, as they’re not really made for on-track shenanigans.

How do Gebhardt and the rest of the team celebrate the achievement? By firing up a BBQ and opening up an official Porsche roof tent atop the Dakar for a bit of ‘Ring-side camping. Lovely.

As a reminder, the Dakar takes inspiration from the 959 and 953 Porsche used to win the Dakar Rally decades ago. The starting point is a 911 GTS, with 50mm higher suspension which can be raised a further 30mm if required. There’s also underbody protection, enabling the Dakar to drive over rough stuff at up to 105mph. The price for all this is a cool £177,000, not including options.

It has a rival in the form of the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, which is more expensive still, and a little less focused on the off-road stuff, but it too might be fun to see taken around the Nurburgring in a similar fashion, don’t you think?