Off-road versions of the legendary “nine hundred and eleventh” Porsche have long been nothing new. Back in the eighties, modified coupes participated in the Paris — Dakar race, a year ago a small-scale Porsche 911 Dakar model entered the market, and of course, such cars are built by private enthusiasts and tuning studios. And now an unusual off-road achievement has appeared in the piggy bank of the Porsche 911: a new height record has been set in the independent ascent of the car.
For the “arrival” on the western slope of the active volcano Ojos del Salado, Porsche built two special prototypes. The basis is the serial coupe Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, but the scale of improvements is great. The main innovation was the installation of wheel reduction gearboxes (as in portal axles) and the corresponding redesign of the suspension. As a result, the ground clearance has grown to an impressive 350 mm!
Off-road confidence is promoted by the powerful protection of the flat bottom, made of lightweight and durable aramid fiber. The picture is complemented by “evil” off-road tires, a special body kit with extended wheel arches and a roof rack. A winch is installed in front (it was useful for record holders). Carbon bucket seats equipped with five-point safety belts appeared inside.
The stern retains a standard 3.0-liter counter with two turbochargers, which produces 450 hp. It has not undergone any modifications, as well as the seven-speed manual transmission, but for the ascent the cars were filled not with gasoline, but with eFuels synthetic fuel, which has been produced in Chile since last year. And one of the two cars has an experimental SpaceDrive steering mechanism: it was developed by the Schaeffler Group and lacks a steering shaft (control “by wire”).
At the wheel of this particular coupe was the winner of Le Mans and many other competitions, the French racer Romain Dumas. He and his team have already visited the slopes of the Ojos del Salado volcano last year – then a targeted ascent to an altitude of 6007 meters took place. And the other day, a record race was made to the level of 6734 meters above sea level! The previous record (6,694 meters) belonged to the prepared Unimog all-terrain vehicles and lasted almost four years. For comparison, the famous race to Pikes Peak ends at 4,302 meters and runs along an asphalt road.