The Porsche 911 Dakar made us all smile when it arrived, blending sports car performance with the ability and the desire to go off-road. It paid tribute to Porsche's rally heritage, tipping its hat to the 953 and 959, and all 2,500 units quickly sold out, but if you missed out the first time around, the 992.2 facelift will provide another opportunity to experience rear-engine rallying. New spy shots from the Autoblog photographers capture the revised 911 Dakar for the first time, showing that the limited-edition nameplate wasn't a one-and-done, and given the changes that the regular 911 lineup has undergone since the first Dakar arrived in 2022, the unique off-roader should be even more exciting this time around.

2027 Porsche 911 Dakar Prototype Still Has a Long Way to Go

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This 911 Dakar development mule appears to be some way off from being production-ready, as the only telltale signs that it's the off-roading special edition are its raised ride height and chunky tires. The plastic wheel arch cladding of the 992.1 Dakar is not yet fitted to this prototype, nor are the more rugged front spoiler and side rocker panels. This pre-production vehicle has a towing eye sticking out of the front end, but it's not the fixed piece that production models will wear, and those large yellow lighting units are temporary items used to help engineers navigate Sweden's winter wonderland. Similarly, the rear of the prototype isn't yet as off-road-ready as the 992.1 Dakar, using a standard 911 bumper. The previous Dakar had its exhaust tips spaced further apart, which is how the 992.1 911 GTS (upon which the Dakar was based) had its tips aligned. Because the facelifted GTS puts them closer together, the facelifted Dakar will apparently do the same. Finally, it's worth noting that this prototype has a deployable rear spoiler, while the last Dakar had a fixed aerodynamic aid. We expect test mules to embrace these missing elements as development continues.

New T-Hybrid Powertrain Will Provide Outstanding Performance

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The 992.1 GTS had a 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged flat-six producing 473 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque, and the Dakar shared this setup. For the 992.2 update, the GTS introduced a new T-Hybrid powertrain, comprising a 3.6-liter single-turbo engine with electric assistance that makes 478 hp most of the time and up to 532 hp for 10-second bursts. Assuming Porsche follows the same recipe as before (and why wouldn't it?), the new 911 Dakar will also make up to 532 ponies and 449 lb-ft for short periods. As our first sighting of the updated model, it will probably be a few months before Porsche finishes its development program, though, with a launch only likely to take place in the second half of this year for the 2027 model year. The previous 911 Dakar started at $223,450 before dealer markups, so this one will probably cost around $250k before options. We'll bring you more information as it comes to light.

Porsche 911 Dakar Is Coming Back, and We Just Spotted It