Extreme Porsche 911 Prototypes Sets Another Altitude Record

The extreme Porsche 911 prototypes primed with portal axles from last year returned to Chile to set yet another record.

Remember the extreme Porsche 911 prototypes with portal axles that climbed the world’s tallest volcano in Chile last year? Well, it seems Porsche took said prototypes and returned to the same location this year and set yet another altitude record drive.

This latest effort saw Porsche's expedition team successful drive the 911 prototypes up Chile's Ojos del Salada volcano and crest a maximum altitude of 6,734 metres above sea level.

The prototypes, which are reportedly based on the current 992-gen 911 Carrera 4S model, underwent slight upgrades for this latest trek. Both crested the peak of the west ridge of Chile’s Ojos del Salada volcano this month at 6,734 meters (22,093 feet) above sea level.

For reference, Porsche’s last effort reached an elevation of 19,708 feet (6,007 meters). With that, the famed Stuttgart-based sportscar brand now holds the altitude record for a climb achieved by a wheeled vehicle.

Impressively, the latest feat saw the upgraded 911 prototype perform the record-setting drive using Porsche’s very own synthetic fuel – called HIF eFuels – that the brand produces in Chile too.

Despite running on synthetic fuels, the extreme 911 prototype still harness a stock 911 Carrera 4S powertrain. Portal axles and off-road tyres have increased ground clearance up to 350 MM as well.

No changes were made to the engines of said 911s, meaning both rocked a 3.0-litre twin-turbo ‘boxer’ flat-6-cyl with 443 HP. Porsche even noted that the team spent two weeks at altitude to acclimatise, but says the cars adapted easily by automatically adjusting the fuelling based on the thinner air.

As before, the prototype 911s adoption of portal axles matched with larger – and chunkier – off-road tyres granted both with ground clearances of up to 350 MM. This also effectively reduced the gear ratios in both.

Their underbodies are also brimmed with added Aramid protection, whilst the chassis is fitted with an advanced steer-by-wire suite developed by Schaeffler Group. The latter was designed to meet the demands of driving up the side of a volcano.

These extreme prototypes also feature added Aramid underbody protection, plus a specially developed drive-by-wire suite designed to meet the demands of this high-altitude climb.

“The 911 managed to go higher than any other earthbound vehicle in history. We reached a point where we were met by the true summit of the west ridge – we could go no higher,” said Porsche works racing driver Romain Dumas who drove on this expedition.

Despite this expedition proving the viability of Porsche’s own synthetic fuels further, the renowned German sportscar marque remains on track with its electrification plans. The firm is set to debut new and all-electric versions of its 718 midship sportscar and Macan compact crossover SUV soon.

Beyond which, the brand also recently marked major a major milestone after producing its two-millionth car at its Leipzig plant. On the local front, Porsche Malaysia (Sime Darby Auto Performance) also launched the updated and still localised (CKD) Cayenne luxury performance SUV.