One-off Porsche 911 Dakar celebrates unique Australian connection

A bespoke Porsche 911 Dakar – a special, high-riding version of the German sports car – has been commissioned as a tribute to one of Poland’s greatest racing drivers, who achieved a remarkable feat in a classic 911 in the Australian outback more than 50 years ago.

In 1968, the ‘London to Sydney Marathon’ saw 98 teams attempt to drive from the UK to Asia via the European mainland, before those who had survived the gruelling journey to Bombay departed with their cars on a boat to Australia.

Among the 98 finishers of the almost 16,700km rally was a Blood Orange Porsche 911S, driven by Polish driver Sobiesław Zasada – a three-time European champion– with Marek Wachowski as his co-driver.

While the #58 Porsche 911 finished fourth overall – behind the winning Hillman Hunter, an Austin 1800 and a Ford Falcon GT – it won the Australian leg of the rally, which involved four days and approximately 5600km of driving from Perth to Sydney.

Following the conclusion of the event, the Porsche 911 was sold in Australia and remained unheard of until 2021 when two Polish documentarians – Andrzej Slazak and Wojciech Jureck – tracked it down, which was documented in the film ‘Red 58’.

Last week, in a post on social media platform Instagram, Porsche’s Polish division revealed the new one-off Porsche 911 Dakar ‘Red58 Special’ edition, which pays tribute to Zasada’s achievement – and was entered into the ‘Bison Rally’.

According to Porsche, the Red58 Special was built by the car-maker’s Sonderwunsch (special request) program on short notice, meaning the original 1968 Marathon car’s Blood Orange paintwork had to be replicated with a vinyl wrap rather than actual paint, due to time constraints.

The Porsche’s doors feature hand-painted number 58s, while its engine cover has also been treated to a hand-applied ‘Poland’ inscription.

Additional exterior touches which reference the classic car include gold Porsche and 911 brand markings, chrome-plated ‘Red58’ B-pillar badges (with Zasada's signature) and chrome headlights.

In the spirit of the Marathon 911’s accomplishment, the 911 Dakar special edition has also been equipped with a roof mount for its spare tyre and a jerry can.

Unfortunately this is the only example of the Red58 Special being built, though the Porsche 911 Dakar has already conquered the Australian outback, after a father-son duo crossed the Simpson Desert in their sports car earlier this year.

Melbourne-based 83-year-old Tom Barr Smith and his son and friends completed the drive for charity in August, raising more than $130,000 in donations to FightMND, a charity which raises awareness and funds research into Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

The story of the 1968 London to Sydney Marathon was recently extensively covered in the book ‘Race Across the World’ by renowned Australian journalist John Smailes, who was reporting on the event at the time.