In search of adventure

When a customer came to collect his brand-new 911 Dakar, Porsche Centre Colchester made sure the experience was an outdoor adventure to match the car.

The search is on:
Porsche driver Elliott Norris enjoyed an unusual handover when it came to collecting his brand-new 911 Dakar – a forest adventure on a Porsche eBike Cross Performance EXC.

Adventure is a constant thread running through Elliott Norris’s life. The tech entrepreneur eagerly throws himself into new ventures, never knowing what challenge might come next. He loves the thrill of racing cars and recreational off-roading. And when we caught up with him, he was recovering from the Trans Balkan Race (one of the world’s toughest mountain-bike races) and was just three weeks away from taking part in an Ironman triathlon.

Cars – and in particular Porsche cars – have been another constant thread. First a Boxster, now a larger collection that includes a modern 911 Speedster and 911 R alongside a classic, short-wheelbase 911 from 1967.

‘The Boxster could take everything I threw at it and still ticked all the boxes from a driver-experience perspective,’ says Elliott. ‘I’ve had a love for Porsche ever since.’

Recently another new Porsche swelled Elliott’s 911 collection, and it’s particularly in tune with his sense of adventure: the 911 Dakar.

Inspired by the Porsche victory on the 1984 Paris-Dakar Rally and limited to just 2,500 examples worldwide, the 911 Dakar features increased ride height, all-terrain tyres, wider bodywork and a new Rallye mode designed for loose surfaces. There’s performance to match, too, courtesy of a 3.0-litre biturbo flat-six (911 Dakar: Fuel consumption* combined (WLTP) 11.3 l/100 km, CO₂ emissions* combined (WLTP) 256 g/km, CO₂ class G , CO₂ class weighted combined G ) and all-wheel drive.

Already the 911 Dakar is proving the perfect fit for Elliott’s love of driving. ‘The off-road element is very appealing, of course, but I’m also enjoying it on the road,’ he explains. ‘Not having to worry about the odd pothole is welcome, plus there’s more suspension travel and extra weight transfer – it adds a whole other level of fun and usability.’

Porsche Centre Colchester was on hand every step of the way as Elliott finalised his dream spec. The result is an Olive Green exterior with a livery that nods to the best-placed 911 on the 1971 East African Safari Rally (complete with that car’s No. 19). A Porsche Tequipment roof rack provides the finishing touch, complete with accessories. The interior features dark wood and the Rallye Sport Package with its colour-coded roll bar.

It wasn’t the typical Porsche Colchester handover process, however: Elliott jumped in a Taycan 4S Sport Turismo with a Porsche eBike Cross Performance EXC on the back, and followed a pre-planned route to a mystery destination.

This was not a typical handover process: ‘I had no idea where we were going,’ Elliott says

‘I literally had no idea where we were going until we approached Twisted Oaks and I was like, “Ah, I know where we are”,’ laughs Elliott. ‘I hoped the car would be there, but Porsche only said it was a fun day out on the bike.’

Located in Suffolk, Twisted Oaks is a 42-acre off-road bike park criss-crossed with trails, slaloms and jumps – a playground for mountain bikers.

‘The Porsche eBike was hilarious,’ Elliott enthuses. ‘It augments what you’re doing with electric power, so you always have to pedal, but you can choose how much assistance it provides. Pedalling hard from the banked corners and adding loads of extra performance was really cool. And it made the uphill sections effortless.

Off-road performance:
The new Cross Performance EXC is a recent addition to the Porsche eBike range, featuring a more powerful battery and electric motor.

The Chronograph 1 – 911 Dakar ...
... the world’s first chronograph with a titanium carbide case, is produced at the Porsche Design factory in Solothurn, Switzerland.

‘All the while I kept seeing what I thought were glimpses of the Dakar through the trees, and then there it was, in a clearing, like a movie set. I just stood there and took it all in. With the spec and that setting, it looked amazing.’

Elliott says the 911 Dakar’s abilities were eye-opening when navigating the uneven terrain back through Twisted Oaks – but there are far more ambitious plans to come for the car. ‘We’ve always done an annual car pilgrimage to Europe with a group of friends, and I adore going to the Dolomites in Italy,’ he reveals. ‘I’m fascinated by the old gravel roads running alongside those mountain passes, and exploring them in the Dakar would be fantastic.’