Porsche 911 Dakar conquers the Simpson for a good cause

An 84-year-old Victorian cattle farmer has just taken on the Australian outback in his brand-new Porsche 911 Dakar to raise funds for motor neurone disease (MND) research.

Setting off from Flinders on July 31, Tom Barr Smith headed for the Northern Territory’s Madigan Line – the most challenging was to cross the Simpson Desert – and then traversed the 720km track from west to east with a couple 4x4 support vehicles in tow and 1030 sand dunes in his way.

The trip took the convoy exactly two weeks to complete by the time they drove to the Madigan Line, conquered it and drove back again, with all vehicles and party members arriving home safely just before lunch on August 13, having raised $130,382 in the process.

Donations are still coming in and the total will likely surpass $131,000 by the end of this week, especially as word of the feat spreads.

One of the trek’s main obstacles was the huge sand dune just west of Birdsville known as ‘Big Red’, which regularly dents the pride of dedicated 4x4s and avid off-roaders, and yet Smith was able to conquer it first time around in the bog-stock 911 Dakar.

It’s perhaps little wonder, given the Dakar was built from the outset to blend performance driving with all-terrain capability in equal measure, thanks to its bespoke off-road suspension, tyres and driving modes.

The whole package is powered by the same 353kW/570Nm twin-turbo six-cylinder boxer engine as found in the 911 GTS, driving all four wheels via the familiar eight-speed ‘PDK’ dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Limited to just 2500 units globally, the 911 Dakar carries an asking price of $491,400 plus on-road costs in Australia, plus an extra $54,730 for the optional Rallye Design Package, which Smith had fitted to his personal vehicle.

Smith predicted that this trip would be easier and smoother sailing than his similar 2021 attempt in a 996-generation 911 4S, which he undertook to raise money for MND research after he lost his wife Jenny to the disease in 2015.

“Every single dollar will go to MND research as the challenge itself is totally funded by the crew ourselves,” he said before setting off.

“I might be in a Porsche but at going on 83 things don’t bend the way they used to.”

You can donate to Smith’s worthy cause via the trip-specific page on the Fight MND website.

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