Should 'Dakar' Be A Porsche Sub-Brand? - Storyboard

While the limited-run 992.2 Dakar has come to an end, does the potential for a Dakar sub-brand exist?

The Porsche 959 won the 1986 Paris-Dakar Rally. It was the first Porsche to feature all-wheel drive and a twin-turbo flat-six engine

Did you know that the first Cayenne was developed around the idea of being an off-road SUV?

To prove how capable the Cayenne was off-road, Porsche took part in the Transsyberia rally between 2006 and 2008

It was immensely successful in the 4,400 mile rally between Moscow Russia and Ulaan Bataar in Mangolia, bagging the top spots

The Cayenne Transsyberia is based on the Cayenne S and was powered by a 405-hp 4.8-liter V8. Porsche built 26 rally cars, and 285 production models

A few years later, Porsche debuted the Macan Vision Safari concept in 2013. This 3-door SUV looked like a proper off-roader, thanks to higher ride height, and chunkier fenders

The Macan Vision Safari never made it to production, but was a hint at how capable the Macan's chassis could be

While Porsche isn't trying much to experiment with making the modern Cayenne and the Macan more rugged looking, it debuted the 911 Dakar in 2022

The 911 Dakar is a 992.1 Carrera GTS under the skin, but it sports a higher ride height, beefier fenders, wheels, a roof rack, and metal skid plates

While the Cayenne remains untouched with any off-road centric mods straight outta factory, you can option your Macan EV and Taycan Cross Turismo to give you that rugged look

The all-new Macan EV is also offered with an off-road package called the Offroad Design Package for $1,570

Given how immensely popular the 992 Dakar has been, Porsche should consider expanding this rally-bred name plate to the models

The Cayenne and Macan could greatly benefit from this move.