Need a Porsche 911 that can handle a rough trail as easily as it can lap a race track? The new 911 Dakar will rise to every occasion, but maybe only if you ask it to.

Our spy photographers recently spotted the lifted, off-road-inspired 992-generation 911 Dakar prototype testing again at the Nürburgring, which is nothing new. We’ve seen it there dozens of times before and had actually expected Porsche to have revealed the production car by now.

But what caught our attention this time is the clearly different ride heights the car was running from one lap to the next. The two images below were taken on different laps, but at the same location on the track and with the car at almost exactly the same point in the corner.

That suggests Porsche isn’t merely fitting longer coil springs and dampers to the Dakar to raise its rider height, but swapping the coils for air springs like the ones available on the Cayenne SUV. Twisting the 911’s steering wheel-mounted rotary drive mode sector will likely automatically adjust the road height to suit the environment, for example dropping the car to the deck in Sport Plus mode, and hiking it up when the driver twists the dial to an off-road mode. But you can bet Porsche will let drivers manually raise the ride height in town so they can show off that this is a more special 911 than most.

Related: The 2023 Porsche 911 Carrera T Is The Not-So-Rich Person’s GT3

Porsche still hasn’t revealed when we’ll see the finished car, but it can’t be far off. These spy shots don’t leave much to the imagination, showing the production arch spats and what looks to be a production-spec rear spoiler. There’s still some disguise obscuring the final bumper shape though, and we’re particularly curious to see the hood vents hiding under that panel between the headlights.

All-wheel drive is a given, and so is a turbocharged flat-six, though whether Porsche will fit the 572 hp (580 PS) powertrain from the 911 Turbo or go for the milder 443 hp (450 PS) 3.0-liter flat six from the Carrera S, or perhaps the 473 hp (480 PS), we don’t yet know. But one thing we’re fairly sure about is that Dakar name. Porsche ambassador and rally legend Walter Röhrl hashtagged one of his Instagram posts “Dakar” earlier this year before quickly deleting it.

Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?
Do These New Spy Shots Reveal The Porsche 911 Dakar’s Air Suspension?

Image Credits: CarPix for CarScoops