duPont REGISTRY May 2023

We live in a time where automakers are surprising us around every corner, doing things we never thought we’d see in our lifetime. Two things seem to be spurring much of this creativity: the division of the automotive market into even more and smaller niches, and the disruption of electrification. This month’s cover car, the Porsche 911 Dakar, and our featured review of the Mercedes-Benz EQS represent the best examples we could find of our favorite automakers surprising us. The idea of a Safari-spec Porsche isn’t new. Third-party tuners and proficient garage mechanics have been building them for a while now. But the idea that Porsche would turn that cottage industry into a factory-backed model with a warranty did not remotely seem possible... until it was. The Porsche 911 Dakar debuted in late 2022 to much excitement, because it’s evident on first impression alone that the company understood the assignment. While you can order your 911 Dakar in a solid color, the reveal car wore an opti