Porsche Checks Safari-Fashion 911 Prototypes on a Volcano in Chile

• Porsche examined two 911 prototypes with jacked-up suspensions and off-road tires on the facet of a volcano.
• The prototypes had been closely modified variations of the 911 Carrera 4S, which has all-wheel drive and 443 horsepower.
• Together with stripped-down interiors and safari-esque styling, the prototypes scaled the volcano with an enhanced drivetrain and a useful winch.

The Ojo del Salado in Chile is the very best volcano on this planet. With slopes made from treacherous terrain and areas the place temperatures are properly beneath freezing, it is the final place anybody would anticipate to see a Porsche 911. Effectively, look once more, as a result of as these pictures present, Porsche has actually taken its iconic sports activities automotive to new heights by testing a pair of safari-style 911 prototypes on the facet of a volcano. Are they a sneak peek on the rumored Dakar model? It kinda appears that method.

Not Your Lawyer’s 911

Clearly, the 2 prototypes concerned on this wild experiment aren’t strange 911s. Whereas they’re each primarily based on the 443-hp all-wheel-drive Carrera 4S, the 992-generation coupes have been closely modified. Porsche did maintain their unique seven-speed guide gearboxes, although. Bravo! Alternatively, the remainder of the automobiles are barely recognizable with their intensive exterior alterations that embrace flared fenders, meaty off-road tires, rooftop cargo racks, and customized liveries. One of many latter’s coloration schemes is identical as Porsche’s 963 LMDh race automotive and the opposite includes a 911 theme created by Weissach designers.

Volcano-Scaling {Hardware}

Fitted with heavy-duty portal axles, the 911 prototypes have a towering 13.7 inches of floor clearance. That is a half-inch greater than the Ford Bronco Raptor. The high-riding Porsches additionally characteristic decrease gear ratios for improved crawling means at low speeds and guide locking diffs for max traction. The 911s have underbody safety made from robust heat-resistant artificial fibers, too. We’re unsure if it may shield towards lava, however the Ojo del Salado is a dormant volcano—so we’re informed.

It isn’t clear what sort of suspension the 911 prototypes are utilizing, aside from it is clearly not a inventory setup. It buoys a quartet of 12.2-inch-wide tires, all of that are mechanically linked by a tool that Porsche calls a “warp connector.” We’re informed it is designed to keep up most traction throughout excessive wheel articulation. Ought to both of the lifted 911s get caught (as seen beneath), each have a front-mounted winch to yank ’em out.

How’s the Climate Up There?

The staff that examined the Dakar-esque 911 prototypes was led by adrenaline junkie, er, adventurer and endurance racer Romain Dumas. He took the jacked-up sports activities automobiles as excessive as 19,708 toes. Not solely had been temperatures stated to be round -22 levels Fahrenheit, however the air was paper skinny. The journey included such obstacles as boulder-strewn slopes, ice fields, and partitions of snow. You understand, typical stuff that 911 drivers encounter. Nonetheless, Porsche says Dumas and his staff completed their mission.

“This was a really memorable and particular second in a spot that’s each stunning and brutal on the similar time, ” stated Dumas. “I assume the one machines wherever on this planet larger than us in the present day had been plane!”

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