Off-road Porsche 911 tested in the Arctic

Porsche wants you to get dirty with its flagship sports car.

The German brand is testing a high-riding version of the Porsche 911 that is a modern riff on the rally cars of the 1970s.

Spy shots from the Arctic show a prototype with a raised suspension, an exhaust layout similar to that of the 911 GTS, flared wheel arches found on the Taycan Cross Turismo and an old-school whale tail from the 930.

Special 911 trims are typically geared toward on-track use, said Sam Fiorani, vice president at AutoForecast Solutions. "Creating a production variant of an off-road 911 is just looking for a niche within a niche," he said.

Porsche teased the idea of a rally-ready 911 about a decade ago, when it revealed the 911 Vision Safari prototype.

"We believe that there is hardly any other car brand that can combine sports car and off-road characteristics as credibly as Porsche," design boss Michael Mauer said at the time.

Based on the 991-generation model, the Vision Safari featured a raised suspension, reinforced wheel housings, big bumpers and a rally cockpit with race seats and roll cage. Designers even planned a shelf mounted above a fan behind the seats — to cool down the driver's crash helmet between stages.

Porsche has a history of off-road 911-based race cars, showing its capabilities in the '70s when it participated in the 3,100-mile (4,989 km) East African Safari Rally.

"This is one area of the 911's racing heritage that Porsche has not yet addressed with a production model," AutoPacific President Ed Kim said.