Porsche Announces Retro Racing-Inspired Wraps for the 911 Dakar
The Porsche 911 Dakar is set to join the ranks of ultra-cool but ultra-expensive and difficult-to-find models in the automaker’s vast catalog, but that hasn’t stopped it from offering upgrades for the car. To celebrate the car’s rally roots, Porsche announced a series of retro wraps inspired by the brand’s run in the East African Safari Rally and the Paris-Dakar Rally in the 1970s and 80s.
The first-inspired wrap follows the design of the 1971 Porsche works team that conquered the desert and terrain of Kenya over 3,100 miles. The wrap features number 19, the number from the most successful car in the rally. Finishing fifth, a pair of Polish drivers drove the car, and the wrap to commemorate their success will set you back $5,260.
The East African Safari Rally wrap features the number 19. The race in 1974 covered three sections ranging from 900 to 1,255 miles each. Only 16 of the 99 cars that entered finished and the $5,260 wrap’s styling is taken from the 911 Carrera 2.7 RS driven by Swedish rally champion Björn Waldegard.
Waldegard returned in 1978 with a 911 SC Group 4 custom car, though he only finished fourth, breaking a wishbone, shock absorber, and driveshaft in the process. His car featured orange, blue, and grey graphics, similar to the Martini Racing liveries of the time. The wrap wears number 14 from another car that finished second in the rally and costs $7,510.
These expensive wraps can be ordered from the factory or installed as an upgrade by a Porsche-certified dealer. Of course, you’re even less likely to see a wrapped 911 Dakar than the standard car, as Porsche will only build 2,500 of the $222,000 off-roader.
[Image: Porsche]
Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.
Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
More by Chris Teague
Comments
Join the conversation
Honestly, I will admit the Dakar is the coolest new car I’ve seen in the past few months next to the Z06. However I believe the $222,000 price tag and ultra limited production is there to drain more dollars from wealthy lifetime Porsche owners.
I'm looking forward to the wrap that Porsche showed in the first promo pictures of the 911 Dakar. It says "Roughroads" on the doors and mimics the old Rothmans livery.