Bench Test: 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato v Porsche 911 Dakar

Off-road supercars are like buses, you wait forever for one then two come along at once.

Hot on the heels of the new 2023 Porsche 911 Dakar has come the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, setting up an unusual exotic twin test.

Since it’s going to be a while before we get behind the wheel of this beasts, with both set to land locally in the second half of next year, let’s examine the specs in more detail to see if one has the upper hand on paper.

Price

There are two hurdles when it comes to parking either a 911 Dakar or Huracan Sterrato in your driveway.

The first is the obvious economics. Porsche asks $491,400 plus on-road costs for the 911 Dakar, but should you so wish you can spend much, much more.

Headlining the options list is the Rallye Design Package which mimics the livery of Porsche’s iconic Dakar-winning machines of the mid-1980s (see below), a snip at $54,730.

Otherwise, you can personalise to your heart’s content, but don’t be surprised if the driveaway price then starts with a ‘6’.

Lamborghini has not yet announced pricing for the Huracan Sterrato but you can bet it will be north of the $459,441 plus ORCs required for a regular Huracan Evo.

You’ll also need to budget just as much options spend as with the Porsche, possibly more so.

The second hurdle in both instances is actually securing one.

Theoretically, the Porsche should be a bit easier here with a build run of 2500 Dakars compared to 1499 Sterratos, but in both cases you might have to buy your local dealership a nice Christmas present to get on the list.

Power and performance

In terms of performance, both these supercars converge on a virtually identical point from two very different directions.

Both claim to hit 100km/h in just 3.4sec and both have top speeds well south of their regular siblings due to limitations of their off-road rubber.

In the case of the Lamborghini, v-max drops to 260km/h rather than the usual 320km/h-plus, while the 911 Dakar is limited to 240km/h rather than the circa-300km/h of the traditional Carrera models.

Still, that’s probably sufficient on a dusty gravel road.

The Porsche features the 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six common to all 992 Carrera models, here producing the same 353kW and 570Nm as the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS through an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox and all-wheel drive.

You’re more likely to hear that Sterrato coming, as it’s powered by 5.2-litre naturally-aspirated V10, again feeding a dual-clutch gearbox – this time with seven speeds – and all-wheel drive.

Off-road ability

Not a category that often gets a mention when discussing Porsche and Lamborghini – even after their forays into SUVs – but the ability to go off the beaten track is the USP of these exotic adventurers.

The Porsche offers an extra 50mm of ground clearance but can add another 30mm front and rear via the lift kit, which can be activated at up to 150km/h.

There’s a Rallye mode which increases the rear bias of the all-wheel drive system and an Off-Road mode as well as Rallye Launch Control, for quick starts on slippery surfaces.

Aiding agility are rear-wheel steering, engine mounts from the 911 GT3 and PDCC active anti-roll bars. Putting the power to the ground are Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus tyres measuring 245/45R19 front and 295/40R20 rear, and featuring 9mm of tread depth to claw into the mud, gravel, snow etc.

The Lambo’s Bridgestone Dueler AT002 tyres are a little smaller at 235/40R19 front and 285/40R19 rear, but have the neat trick of run-flat technology that allows the car to travel for 80km at up to 80km/h with zero air pressure.

Ground clearance has increased by 44mm and the tracks are wider by 30/34mm front/rear respectively in an effort to boost suspension travel.

The sills, rear diffuser and wheel-arches have been reinforced and aluminium underbody protection saves the nose from gravel rash.

Like the 911 Dakar, the Huracan Sterrato features a Rally mode for off-road escapades, but the Porsche has one last party trick with an optional roof rack than can hold 42kg and features a 12-volt power outlet for the roof-mounted spot lights, while a roof tent is also available for when sleeping in the great outdoors.

History

The idea of an off-road Porsche 911 might seem odd, but there’s proper historical precedence.

In 1984 Rene Metge and Dominique Lemoine won the iconic Paris-Dakar endurance rally in a specially-built 911 dubbed ‘953’.

It’s a feat they repeated two years later in a Porsche 959, Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur following them for a historic one-two finish.

It’s these triumphs that the new 911 Dakar’s Rallye Design Package celebrates, though other historic liveries from 1971, 1974 and 1978 are also available.

Lamborghini’s ties are a little more tenuous.

A factory assault on the Paris-Dakar was planned in 1988 with rallying legend Sandro Munari behind the wheel, but it never eventuated.

A Swiss privateer team did enter an LM002, but its fate is lost to history.

Verdict

These left-field creations are both swansongs in a way. The Porsche 911 Dakar is expected to be the final variant of the 992-generation before the 992.2 facelift arrives, while the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato farewells the Huracan after eight years and more than 20,000 examples built.

Which wins?

It’s currently a tie, the Porsche’s backstory and greater off-road ability countered by the Lamborghini’s wild looks and soaring engine.

This just means we’ll have to drive them both to break the tie…

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