In 2012, Porsche unveiled its officially factory-built 911 Vision Safari concept — a rally-inspired 991-gen 911 that picked up where the Stuttgart firm’s 911 SC Safari and 959 left off. In the proceeding decade, rumors have swirled of a limited edition production safari-style 911 — a model that’s seemingly growing closer and closer to production based on the release of Porsche’s latest conceptual project; a pair of custom factory-backed 922-gen 911 off-roaders.
Both cars are based on the current 911 Carrera 4S, and utilize a 443-hp version of the model’s turbocharged flat-six engine that comes mated to a seven-speed manual transmission. To ready the 992-gen vehicles for extremely hostile conditions, the team at Porsche has bestowed the cars with full roll cages, carbon fiber seats, portal axles with increased ground clearance, and lower gear ratios. Alongside manual, switchable differential locks and a cutting-edge steer-by-wire system, the pair of one-off-roaders also benefit from the use of what Porsche calls a Warp-Connecter. Originally developed for use in motorsport, this advanced system forms a mechanical link between all four wheels in order to allow constant wheel load even as the chassis endures extreme articulation.
Both safari-kitted cars have also been cloaked in custom ultra-widebody panels along with full Aramid fiber underbody protection. Flared fenders at all four corners also open up additional space to accommodate the builds’ additional suspension travel and ultra-wide 310mm off-road wheels and tires. One of the two vehicles wears a replica livery borrowed from Porsche’s 963 LMDh racer while the other 992-based one-off has been adorned in a special paint job that was penned by Porsche’s styling team in Weissach.
The pair of 911s were used to explore the slopes of Ojos del Salado, Chile, which is the highest volcano in the world. Headed up by endurance racer and adventurer Romain Dumas, the team managed to climb up to nearly 20,000’ — all while facing chilling temperatures and equally hostile terrain conditions.
