Since unveiling its newest off-road variant of the famed Porsche 911, the 2023 911 Dakar, Porsche has confirmed in a recent interview with CAR Magazine that even more derivatives of the original sportscar are to come, including a “sporty” hybrid and a range of Dakar-inspired off-road vehicles.
With 26 911 derivatives to date, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume told CAR that the 911 Dakar is just the beginning of the company’s 911 range and the likely start of a new direction toward a pillar that mixes the sports industry with tougher cars capable of handling the great outdoors.
“There was a need to bring a car you can drive off-road and, thinking of our product strategy, we have the 911 base, stretching from the entry model to the Turbo S. Then we have the very sporty ones, the GT models. We also have the heritage pillar – and there the idea came from the sports industry,” Blume told CAR. “‘Very few global brands are able to bring these successful items from the past and connect them with modern technology. But Porsche can. Then we thought ‘Why not a third pillar, besides sporty GT and heritage models? Why not off-road, too?’”
As the first off-road version of the iconic Porsche 911 model, the all-wheel drive Dakar sportscar opens the door for more off-road editions to come that will appeal to customers in different regions around the world, according to Blume. The head of Porsche also announced in the CAR interview that the company will be adding a new hybrid to the 911 range.
“Our aim is to offer in each of our segments – the two-door sports cars, the four-door limousines and the SUVs – a combustion engine version, a hybrid version and a fully electric version,” says Blume. “Coming back to the two-door sports cars, we will add a very sporty hybridization to the 911, so then we will have the offer of combustion engines and hybrid in the 911 and we already announced we will come with a fully electric 718.”
The company is also prioritizing sustainability with a new e-fuel pilot plant located in Chile that will power combustion engines with synthetic fuels made from water and carbon dioxide using wind energy. A Porsche 911 was fueled successfully with the first synthetic fuel produced at the plant during a ceremonial fuelling in December 2022.
“We think there’s a responsibility to invest in synthetic fuels and produce them in regions in the world where sustainability is unlimited, then the discussion of efficiency doesn’t play a role,” Blume told CAR. “That is why we are fighting for synthetic fuels. Clearly, it will help the Porsche fleet for the future, and we are thinking only to mix a percentage of synthetic fuels with traditional combustion fuels. By 2040 or 2050 it will help to reduce our CO2 from a global perspective.’
Read the complete CAR interview with Porsche CEO Oliver Blume here.
