Porsche fails to strike a deal with Tata. Details here

Porsche has failed to enter into a special deal with Tata Motors, reports Edmunds. The German luxury high-performance car brand reportedly wanted to use the ‘Safari’ moniker for its special 911 Dakar Rally iteration, but it has been the name of a popular Tata SUV for a long time. This prompted Porsche to push for an agreement with Tata Motors, as the Indian auto manufacturer has the ‘Safari’ trademark registered in various markets worldwide. However, the latter refused to allow Porsche to use that moniker.

Porsche's 911 Dakar programme's director Thomas Krickelberg reportedly said to the publication that it talked with Tata Motors. He also said that Tata Motors didn't allow Porsche to use the ‘Safari’ nomenclature. "We talked to them. But they didn’t give us permission for that. That was Option A. And then we switched to Dakar," he said.

Krickelberg also revealed that changing the first proposed name Safari to Dakar wasn't easy, as the trademark for the name's use on automobiles is held by Dakar Rally organisers. Hence, Porsche had to pay an undisclosed amount to Dakar Rally organisers to buy the copyright to use the term ‘Dakar’ on the special 911 model.

The Porsche 911 Dakar edition debuted in November last year. Visually, the Porsche 911 Dakar wears a special colour with exclusive decals. It came as a high-riding, specially-tuned version of the iconic sports car. The tweaks included a 2.0-inch suspension lift and a lift system capable of raising the vehicle another 1.2 inches. The car also received special Pirelli Scorpion tyres.

On the powertrain front, the car gets a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged flat-six engine that churns out 473 hp of peak power. Transmission duty in this model is done by an eight-speed PDK gearbox. Porsche also added new Off-Road and Rallye driving modes to the 911 Dakar. The special edition car is limited to only 2,500 units globally. The car's prices start at $223,450, with delivery slated to commence later in 2023.