But they also make these products specialised to appeal to a variety of uses, and are the best in their individual class at those. So while Rolex has a Sea Dweller and Submariner in case you want to explore deep reefs, Porsche has, within in its iconic range, versions specialised for race tracks GT3 , for Monaco posing Targa , for high-speed touring with a twist Turbo , and for old-fashioned top down cruising Cabriolet. There are numerous others. To this, we can now add the Dakar. Car companies over the decades have not been short of marketing-led branded badges: you can buy variations of mass-produced cars called the Roland Garros after the French Open tournament , the Vogue a Range Rover , and the Picasso.
But none of those will make you any better at tennis, fashion or art; they are pure marketing. The Dakar is not one of those. It is named after the extraordinarily punishing and challenging Paris Dakar rally of the s , which Porsche actually won, twice.
The Dakar comes as standard with massive balloon-like Scorpion off-road tyres more commonly found on vehicles taking you on safari , inside there are racing bucket seats perhaps slightly less than useful for daily use and a roll cage in the back in case you flip the car over while going up a crack in the Sahara desert at 90 mph.
If you, like us, thought that this high-performance dune buggy would feel a bit odd in normal city and country life, you would be as surprised as we are.
It is, frankly, a hoot from the moment you turn the switch to start the engine, louder than normal s because the rear seat has been replaced by a metal roll cage.
