Forza Horizon 4: A Porsche that conquered Dakar

Forza Horizon 4 pays tribute to Porsche's 70th anniversary and while our Great Britain adventure takes part on the year-long celebration of Stuttgart's finest, we take a look at a Porsche we never knew it competed at the Paris-Dakar and won and it was based on the legendary short-lived speed king we all know about.



Yes, this is essentially a Porsche 959, the legendary short-lived speed king that made headlines in the late 80's, but what that is is a rally raid car. Applicable for Car Pass owners, this unsung hero lives to tell the tale of how Porsche sent the 959 on the Paris-Dakar and won.

It all started when Porsche opened their opportunity to take on Group B racing during the development of the 959 but because Group B is all about rallying, there has been a change of plans for Porsche. What they do is they convert their 911 cars to 959 specifications for use at the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1984 but a year later, a rally version of the 959 was ready but mechanical issues caused all of the cars failed to finish. In 1986, the 959 made a 1-2 finish at the Paris-Dakar Rally.



While it was not meant to be made as a Group B rally monster, the capabilities of the 959's four-wheel drive system demonstrated through the unforgiving paths of the Paris-Dakar show that even the short-lived fastest car in the world is able to adapt through different surroundings, something that the one that stole its crown, the Ferrari F40, couldn't do.





So, not only this rally raid 959 is fast but it can go anywhere and it's their way of showcasing just how capable Porsches are, something that was almost carried over to Porsche's first-ever SUV, the Cayenne. It maybe theoretical but let's put this theory to the test as the 959 Rally Raid car takes on a Double Dare to see if the legend is true.

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...and that is all she wrote.



Adding this to Porsche's greatest hits might be hard but for a rally raid 959, I think its tale is pretty impressive and like this car, there could be unsung Porsche heroes lurking around its 70-year history and this rally raid 959 is a clear reminder that we need to dig deeper to understand Porsche's hidden achievements. In the meantime, let's celebrate 70 years of Porsche while we still can.  The more you know.