Porsche 911 Dakar
911 Dakar ordered a year ago
After learning that Porsche was developing an off-road 911, Nguyen Hoang Anh ordered a 911 Dakar, a limited edition of 2,500 units, and decided to take it to the Gobi Desert.
Starting up a Porsche engine for the first time is always a special experience, especially if that Porsche is a 911 Dakar. The engine roars, the world begins to shake, and I am at the center of it all.
The year is September 2023. I take a deep breath and finally leave my garage in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). I’m now behind the wheel of the first 911 Dakar sold in Vietnam. It’s only been six weeks since I bought it. I’ve long dreamed of driving an off-road sports car through the Gobi Desert, the desert closest to Vietnam.
To say the Gobi Desert is “close” to Vietnam might be a misnomer. This vast arid region straddles China and Mongolia, and the journey is over 30,000 km long. And with winter fast approaching in the north, I don’t have much time.
I had been keeping an eye on Porsche’s development of an off-road 911 for some time. When it makes its world premiere in the fall of 2022, I ordered a rare GT Silver Metallic 911 Dakar, one of the 2,500 units available worldwide. Before setting off on the journey, I didn’t make any modifications to the car. The 911 Dakar is designed for extreme conditions, so there’s no need to add any extra equipment.
But at 54, my body just can’t handle it. To prepare, I took a two-day test drive through Vietnam, covering 2,000 km. And now, I’m heading off into the unknown in the 911 Dakar. My dream is finally coming true.
September 19-23: First stop: the Laos-China border
The first leg of the journey will take him from Vietnam through Laos to the Chinese border, with two friends accompanying him to help him.
Two friends have accompanied me on this journey. They drive a pickup and an SUV, and they will be heading to Mongolia with my 911 Dakar. This is a long journey with great challenges. We have complete confidence in each other and will be able to work together.
Communication between vehicles is primarily via walkie-talkies, with smartphones also used over longer distances. The first few days of the journey take me along the coast of the South China Sea, heading west from Vietnam through Laos. The scenery along the way is breathtaking. My destination is one where no 911 has ever traveled before.
There will be places where there are no roads. The direct route isn’t necessarily the quickest, and I don’t have a specific route planned. There will be overnight stops, cities I really wanted to visit… And I’ll need a visa at the border between Laos and China.
September 24th to October 3rd: Chaka Salt Lake, Qinghai Province, China
We entered China without any problems and enjoyed the well-maintained Chinese roads. This was my first opportunity to test the potential of the 911 Dakar. And what power! Without any major stress, I continued to accumulate mileage and head north. The crystal-clear Chaka Salt Lake in Ulan County, Haixi County, Qinghai Province, China, located on the Tibetan Plateau, was the highlight of the trip. At an altitude of 3,100 meters, the blue sky felt very close.
This time, we were driving along the Karakoram Highway and off-road in Xinjiang. When I tried to plan a precise route, the navigation system replied, “Route cannot be calculated.”
October 4th-13th: The Eighth Wonder of the World, Tianshan
They drove along the Karakoram Highway and off-road in Xinjiang, and when they tried to plan a precise route, the navigation system replied, “Route cannot be calculated.”
Entering the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China, we encountered the sandy terrain of the Gobi Desert and rolling hills. It was time to take the 911 Dakar off-road for some serious off-roading. Driving the 911, designed specifically for off-roading, and navigating the harsh terrain was a thrilling experience. The 911 is not just good at sprinting like on a circuit, it’s also great at climbing.
It felt so good that we tied small fireworks to the rear of our car with ropes and sped across the grassland. In China, fireworks are said to ward off evil spirits and pave the way to happiness. And that was certainly true! The spectacular fireworks were met with excited cheers.
The famous Karakoram Highway, which connects Pakistan and China, is located close to the borders of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on the Chinese side. It passes through the Khunjerab Pass, once an important base on the Silk Road, and Kashgar. This area reaches an altitude of 4,714 meters and is sometimes called the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”
We’re almost at 4,700 meters. Our route takes us past Dushanzi and up the Tianshan mountain range to Kuqa. This pass is considered one of the most beautiful in China, offering spectacular views of sheer, dark gray stone cliffs. But this beautiful road will soon be in hibernation.
“There is no road to happiness, happiness is the path.” This is a phrase I didn’t coin, but it fits our journey, which has only one destination.
October 14th-20th: Finally reaching the China-Mongolia border
The beautiful, jewel-like Lake Kanas is past peak season, so there are no major crowds as we drive along the forest road.
It’s been almost a month since I started my journey. As I was behind the wheel, I sorted through all the memories. I wondered if this was the greatest adventure of my life… I still haven’t found the answer.
We arrived in Hemu, China’s most beautiful village in the northern highlands. It’s a magnificent gem, nestled around Lake Kanas. The picturesque autumn scenery creates an awe-inspiring natural wonder. By the time we arrived, the peak season had already ended, making for a pleasant ride along the usually crowded forest roads.
Ahead of us lay lush green fields, snow-capped peaks in the distance, and the perfectly smooth waters of Lake Canas stretched between them. If you asked me why I was on this journey, I would say, first and foremost, to experience the 911 Dakar more fully. But it was also for moments like these. It was a magical place that will stay with me forever.
October 21st-27th: The Gobi Desert in Mongolia, a difficult journey
In the most difficult Gobi Desert, the rear of the 911 Dakar was damaged, so he went to a repair shop in Ulaanbaatar, where he met a mechanic from the same country, Vietnam.
I was intoxicated by the beauty of the past few days. But when we arrived at our destination, the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, and saw with my own eyes the challenges of this journey, I was overcome with a powerful impulse, or rather, emotion. I had underestimated the terrain, strewn with large, sharp rocks, and ended up with two flat tires… Fortunately, I had two spare tires. We somehow managed to reach our intermediate destination, the Kazakh Beken family home.
It’s humbling to be presented with such majestic wildlife. What a sight! In Mongolia, eagles are revered for their strength, agility, and loyalty. “My 911 Dakar is like an eagle,” I think to myself with a slight grin. That night, we were surrounded by the family and the silence of nature, enjoying our meal together, listening to their songs, and delving deeper into the fascinating world of far western Mongolia.
However, the struggle with the harsh desert terrain continued the next day. Gliding across the sand felt like flying. Large rocks were scattered along part of the route, significantly slowing our progress. The only guideposts were the tracks of previous cars. Even the 911 Dakar can be tough on some terrain. But the car overcame the challenges and led us to our destination.
On the way to Tsenkher Hot Springs in Arkhangai province, I got lost, but once again the 911 Dakar rescued me. The last 20km had to be driven off-road in the mountains. There were no roads, only occasional nomad footprints to guide me. I crossed riverbeds and threaded my way through the forest. Eventually I reached the healing waters of the hot springs. I was amazed by this natural wonder.
I realized once again that the 911 Dakar can handle any terrain on this journey.
October 27th – November 5th: Meeting with fellow natives in Ulaanbaatar
When we accelerated suddenly in a riverbed, the rear bumper hit a rock. We ended up going to a repair shop in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. When we arrived, we were surprised to find that the mechanic was Vietnamese. It was great to be able to talk to fellow countrymen so far from home. As a result, we were even more welcomed at the repair shop than the 911 Dakar.
The car was quickly repaired and we fled Ulaanbaatar, the coldest and most populous city in the world. We weren’t here for a city trip—we’ll save that for another time—but to experience the impressive natural scenery.
As we passed the frozen Lake Khuvsgul, Mongolia’s second largest lake, I watched the sun set over the rolling autumn forest, a moment I wanted to immortalize. Further east, snow was already falling.
November 6th-16th: Snow falls across China’s borders again
We visited China Snow Town, where snow was falling. This was probably the first time that a 911 had visited this snowy scenic spot.
The forecast proved correct. Once we crossed the border again and reached northern China, we were greeted by a thick layer of snow. We were finally able to drift the 911 Dakar, but not for long. The roads were extremely icy and dangerous. Three days later, when we got stuck in traffic, the conditions were no longer dangerous, but risky.
A long traffic jam disrupted our plans, so we decided to take a risk and go off-road, off the main road. The video of this daring maneuver has been viewed more than 2 million times on social media.
Mohe is China’s northernmost city and the coldest, with temperatures dropping below minus 30 degrees in winter. The only thing between it and Russia is a frozen river. This time, we head south to “China Snow Town” in the Snow Country National Forest Park in Hailin, Heilongjiang Province. The official name is apparently “China Snow Town,” but we feel this village is more suited to its unofficial nickname.
We ran the 911 Dakar in China’s most famous snow city. No one has ever seen a 911 run through a snow town. What an honor.
November 17th to December 4th: Return trip to Vietnam
On the way back, Nguyen Hoang Anh visited Manzhouli, a city in the Mongolian Autonomous Region of China, where a huge monument welcomed the 911 Dakar. On his return journey to Vietnam, he felt a strong desire to travel the world again in the 911 Dakar.
The roads in western China aren’t as spectacular as those in Mongolia, but they still left me with an overwhelming sense of happiness. We headed into the Gobi Desert, and now we’re heading home. I hope this journey never ends… We visited Dandong, on the border with North Korea, and saw the now-collapsed bridge that once connected the two countries. We left Beijing and headed to Shanhai Pass, where the Great Wall begins at sea. We continued south, heading home.
As I was trying to process the countless emotions, I kept encountering people following our trip on their smartphones. One time, a friend in China sent me a video of our trip that his son had found on social media. The hashtags “#Vietnam911” and “#VietnamUncle” had been trending on Chinese social media for a while.
Me and the Porsche 911 Dakar have become celebrities! We enjoy the attention and exciting encounters with many people.
I may be the first person to cover 33,000 km in a 911 Dakar. I came to understand that this journey was not just an exciting experience for me. When I returned home, I grew fond of the 911 Dakar, just like all the emotions, the harsh desert, the snowy roads, the steep hills, and the highways we raced through. Over those 75 days, this car had become incredibly close to my heart, and I wanted to travel the world with it again.
A year later, the destination was Zuffenhausen, Germany.
Nguyen Hoang Anh was invited to the Porsche Museum and met Achim Lampert, General Project Manager of the 911 Dakar, and promised to return to the same place with his own 911 Dakar.
In the late summer of 2024, I had time to process the experiences I had gained the previous winter. As I was planning my next move, I received a fascinating message.
Apparently, the engineers developing the 911 Dakar in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen heard about my journey and wanted to meet me. I couldn’t believe it and I was amazed. My dream had come true, even better than I expected.
After an exhausting flight, I stood outside the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen and was greeted by Achim Lampert, General Project Manager for the 911 Dakar. He and his team had made this trip a special gift.
He had prepared a 911 Dakar in Rothmans livery. I spent some time with him and he told me the exciting story behind the development of the 911 and how the 911 Dakar came about. I promised him that one day I would come back to visit this place in a 911 Dakar.
After all, this was not my last adventure. One day I will travel around the world to Stuttgart. Me and my 911 Dakar.
