This lifted, 992-based adventuremobile takes no icy prisoners.
The irony of the many custom builds that drop right around the SEMA show is that so many of those projects don’t actually do anything. Sure, they look neat, sitting there on the show floor, but how many of them move under their own power? How many of them have been driven in anger?
Thankfully, Porsche brought us an antidote to the static displays and shiny immovable sheet metal of SEMA. This modified Porsche 911 drove up an active volcano in Chile, right on up to 19,708 feet. Why’d they do that? Because it’s rad. Stop asking questions.
The project was spearheaded by Romain Dumas, who you may remember from setting the Pikes Peak record overall in the Volkswagen ID.R. He’s an adventurer too, apparently, who couldn’t take a good look at the highest volcano on earth, Ojos del Salado, in Chile, without thinking, “I should drive something up there.”
Now, I’ve climbed to about 18,000 ft. on an active volcano in my time (a wildly irresponsible, self-guided run up Washington’s Mt. Rainier), and I can’t quite imagine driving a 911 (or vehicle of any kind) well past that elevation. Kudos to Dumas and Porsche for having the gumption in the first place. High alpine environments are some of the most unforgiving on this planet, and probably the last place I’d want to be stuck with a car and a headache from the lack of oxygen.
This high-altitude climber is based on the 992-generation 911 C4S with its stock turbocharged flat-six producing 443 horses, paired to the (also stock) seven-speed manual gearbox. Two examples were built, equipped with roll cages, harnesses, and carbon-fiber bucket seats in case the steep hillside decided to fight back.
Other goodies, noted by Porsche, “A device called the Porsche Warp-Connecter was added. Originally designed for motorsport applications, it forms a mechanical link between all four wheels to allow constant wheel load even when the chassis is enduring extreme articulation – contributing to maximum traction.”
Diff locks were used in the front and back and integrated with a steer-by-wire system. A winch was also installed on the front of the car, its body widened to accept the big knobby off-road tires. Of course, the suspension was modified and raised considerably to aid ground clearance and provide articulation for scrambling over the volcano’s ice fields and rocky surfaces.
What point does this vehicle prove? I’m not really sure. But it’s super cool. As much as we love our automotive trade shows and how they show us what could be possible, we offer three cheers to Porsche for building something rad, then actually getting out there to use it.
Kyle Kinard The only member of staff to flip a grain truck on its roof, Kyle Kinard is R&T’s senior editor and resident malcontent.
Keyword: Porsche's Latest 'Safari' Car Drove Up a Gotdang Volcano