Jay Leno Thinks the Porsche 911 Dakar Is the Perfect ‘Piece of Equipment’
Jay Leno found the Porsche 911 Dakar to be a dirt-spitting good time
Jay Leno loves a Porsche just as much as the next guy. As such, he seemed excited to welcome Jeff Zwart to his garage to introduce a Porsche 911 Dakar. Zwart identified the Dakar as more than a gimmicky 911 specialty model. In fact, he called it “one of the most practical 911s possible.”
“You don’t realize how much time you think about driving diagonally across driveways,” Zwart said referring to his 911 GT3. With two inches of clearance above the standard 992 911 GTS, the Dakar is a gold-standard off-road version of a performance car. Moreover, drivers can access an extra inch at the push of a button.
However, the Dakar is far from a sober SUV. Consequently, Zwart pointed out that the Dakar features adjustable bias on the four-wheel propulsion. “The Sport Plus setting is replaced by the Rallye callout. The Rallye callout adjusts the torque-split more to the rear.”
“Everything inside is pretty typical 911.” However, Zwart pointed out that the Dakar is a limited-run affair. And unlike some versions of the 911, the Dakar is instantly recognizable with its ride height and knobby tires. As a result, the Dakar is a much more capable urban commuter. At one point, Leno made his best scraped splitter impression describing his own GT3. “It drives me crazy.”
Leno loved sliding the go-anywhere 911 on an off-road route
And then Leno asked the question everyone wanted to hear. “Can we take it for a ride?” The tenured TV host seemed to enjoy every moment of the drive, taking periodic pulls. The sonorous flat-six revved in compliance. “You can treat it just like a Jeep or any other piece of equipment.”
The extra ride height “buys you a lot,” Zwart says of the Dakar. As you might imagine, then, Leno and Zwart were excited to take the 911 Dakar off-road. The tippy-toed 911 kicked up dirt and clouds of dust. Better yet, Leno selected the Rallye setting to access the Dakar’s best off-road qualities.
Making the adjustment firmed up the suspension, cleared the Dakar’s throat, and prepped the Porsche for off-road work. Moreover, the setting adjusted the bias to promote Leno’s tail-happy slides. “I had so much fun. You can drift it, slide it around.” “You’ve got all the power, all the convenience… of a normal Porsche.” Happy days, indeed.
Photos: Jay Leno’s Garage