Extreme Porsche 911 prototypes climb world’s tallest volcano

Over three decades ago, Porsche successfully fitted an all-wheel-drive (AWD) system into its 911 model for the first time This led to the marque’s historic Paris-Dakar Rally win in 1985 with the now iconic Rothmans-liveried 953 – dubbed the first ever ‘911 4x4’.

Fast forward to the present and the Stuttgart-based sportscar marque’s recent endeavour with two specially built 911 prototypes through Chile is continuing said rally-winning 911’s legacy.

Both cars didn’t just conquer terrains, they also endured extreme temperatures – as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius – and the oxygen-starved altitude challenges whilst climbing the Ojos del Salado – the world’s tallest volcano. In fact, the pair of prototypes successfully reached an elevation of 19,708 feet (6,007 meters).

This trek across one of South America’s toughest trails requires a special machine, which is what both these 911 prototypes effectively are. Specially built from the factory, these prototype 911s were primed with both AWD with the addition of portal axles, the latter also explaining the extreme 350 MM (13.8 inches) of ground clearance each car had.

Added protection from the elements, on the other hand, came from special, lightweight Aramid fiber under body shield. Besides that, Porsche engineers also added what it dubs as the "Porsche Warp-Connecter." This tech, initially designed for track use, creates a mechanical link between all four wheels, which in turn creates constant wheel load – even when the chassis is under extreme articulation.

Despite these extreme off-road modifications, both these 911 prototypes did use a number of stock, production-derived hardware and parts too. Amongst them was the powertrain package that consists of an unmodified 3.0-litre flat-six turbo and 7-speed PDK transmission. The former, lifted from the current 992-gen 911 Carrera 4 S, delivers 443 HP and 530 NM of twist.

Lastly, what’s noteworthy too are the liveries worn by both 911 prototypes. One is derived from the Porsche 963 LMDh Le Mans racer whilst the other sports a 911-themed livery designed by Porsche’s team in Weissach.

Could both prototypes also stand as our first glimpse of the rumoured upcoming Porsche 911 ‘Safari’ model? Perhaps…