Porsche Built the Factory Safari 911 We’ve Been Begging For Years Ago

Nov 12, 2020
Off-road sports cars have exploded in popularity over the past decade. It’s been headed by air-cooled Porsche 911s transformed to perform off pavement, similar to the rally cars of the Seventies and Eighties that competed in Europe and Africa. People have been asking Porsche to build a factory Safari 911 variant for years, and up until now, we never thought it would. But it’s already existed for nearly a decade, as a one-off concept.

The 911 Vision Safari is one of several previously-hidden concepts unveiled yesterday by Porsche, giving us a look inside the company’s design philosophy over the past 15 years. Built in 2012 and based on the then-new 991 platform, it got a lifted suspension, reinforced wheel wells, big bumpers, and a stripped cockpit with bucket seats and a roll cage. There’s even a shelf behind the seats to mount helmets, equipped with a fan to help cool them between stages.

The car spent most of its time at Porsche’s Weissach test facility, specifically the gravel track where the Cayenne and Macan are normally tested. Now that it’s been revealed to the world, it’ll be on display at Porsche’s Museum.

The 911 isn’t the only car Porsche’s Safari’d over the years. The company also built a one-off Macan Safari in 2013 with a similarly lifted suspension and fender flare set. And no, your eyes aren’t deceiving you—this is a three-door Macan, not a five-door, like the production version.
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