Now that AWD is Available, Will Corvette Enter the Hot New Off-Road Sportscar Market?

Maybe it represents the most logical progression of the “just for fun” vehicle, maybe we’re witnessing traditional Go-Fast companies act on their desire for a slice of the Raptor/TRX market’s sizable profit margins, or perhaps we’re just seeing a natural response to the aging state of the developed world’s infrastructure and the popularity of crossovers, SUVs, and an international zombie apocalypse fetish, but the age of the factory-lifted offroad-focused sports car is officially upon us.

Back in November, Lamborghini, of all companies, announced that it was casting a lifted dune buggy to play the coveted swansong role – a part that is conventionally reserved for some limited-run track missile – of the best-selling model in Raging Bull history. This week, media types received the green light to sound off on the new Dakar variant of Porsche’s venerable cart-before-horse sportscar.

The way the latter group is gushing about the rally-inspired “Nuen Elfer’s” unmitigated brilliance has captured our collective imagination here at CorvetteBlogger, and with all-wheel-drive hitting the order guide for the first time, we want to know if a Baja ‘Vette to rival the Dakar could possibly be in the cards at Chevrolet?

To create their unlikely dune runner, Porsche engineers started with the 911 Carrera 4 GTS. This foundation features a PDK-shifted, rear-mounted, 473-horse 3.0L twin-turbo flat-6 with 420 lb.-ft. of torque that motivates all four wheels. There’s rear-steer and a truck-load of other, Stuttgart-specific acronyms that decode to dynamic chassis control, torque vectoring (plus!), and traction management that have each been optimized with exclusive new settings for “offroad” and “Rallye.” The factory lift includes a greater static ride height in addition to a 1.2-inch suspension lift – in normal settings, the Dakar features 6.3-inches of clearance ( 1.8 more than the GTS and .2 more than Motor Trend’s 2023 “SUV” of the Year) and automatically extends to a height of 7.5-inches in Offroad mode (the tall setting can be manually selected in other modes). The added elevation doesn’t allow for serious rock crawling but is optimized instead for the kind of suspension travel required for, as the setting moniker suggests, a rally course or, more likely, high-speed desert action. The final ingredient is a set of tailor-made Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus gator backs.

To create the Sterrato, Lamborghini followed a strikingly similar recipe; lift the AWD Huracán 1.7-inches, reduce(!) power to 600 ponies, add special offroad settings, and fit bigger meats. They also took their rig to the next level by tacking on unique fender flares, a small pair of light bars, and an awesome overhead intake snorkel.

Now, here’s where the ears of General Motors’ infamous “bean counters” should really perk up: the Carrera 4 GTS starts at $149,900. Anyone care to wager what Porsche is asking for a lifted one with beefy tires? The Dakar STARTS at $223,450! We don’t want to discount all of the work that went into engineering, software, testing, and the like, but the list of modifications that make the GTS excel off the pavement looks suspiciously similar to what our friend in high school did to his Silverado. And while his dad chipped in a bit, we know that his suspension lift and BFGs still didn’t tack an additional $74 gs to the truck’s bottom line! US pricing for the Sterrato has yet to be announced by Lamborghini, but clearly, this new pair of pothole-defeating sports/supercars will significantly pad the pockets of the VW group behind both companies.

The Corvette ZR2 Safari

Photo Credit: General Motors Design / Instagram

With the brand-new canvas that is the E-Ray’s Lambo-smashing 655-horse LT2/Hybrid AWD powertrain sitting there just waiting for paint, what’s to stop General Motors from crashing the sportscar party on the dunes with a superior and more attainable offering? Chevrolet is already sitting on the perfect base car, and their engineers have access to a LOT more truck and off-road hardware than Porsche and Lamborghini’s guys ever dreamt of, but as good as a lifted hybrid ‘Vette with DSSV shocks would be, it is the one-two marketing coup offered by such a vehicle that should elevate it to irresistible status for killer competitors like GM President Mark Reuss.

The first of these branding exercises would rectify a 30+-year-old wrong that was levied on the Corvette from within the GM hierarchy. At one point, former Corvette Chief Engineer and Father of the King of the Hill ZR-1, Dave McLellan, had hoped to do an even crazier C4, which would, he presumed, wear the ZR2 badge as an homage to the mighty LS6 454-powered C3 of 1971. Because of this desire, he was more than a little peeved when the team behind the Blazer and S-10 compact 4x4s stole HIS trim level for their top-shelf offering. As the alphanumeric ZR2 has really been leveraged as Chevy speak for “ultimate offroad version” in the past decade, a lifted ‘Vette would be the perfect way to honor both ZR2 legacies!

Now, the aftermarket has been churning out rally-bred 911s for years under the 911 “Safari” banner. Since the first test mules were spotted, it was assumed that the manufacturer’s genuine article would pick up that name and run with it, but that plan had to be aborted after a copyright office run-in with Indian car company Tata that already called legal “dibs” on that name for its re-badged Landy Disco. Therein lies marketing opportunity #2. Now, Tata doesn’t have a foothold in the US, and one would assume that because of a certain non-mini GMC van, GM has a pretty valid claim to the Safari name here in its home market, so it just might be time to pull a Carroll Shelby and stick it to a rival by stealing their name!

But, no matter what it is called or the motivation behind its production, we can’t help but pine for a world where an off-road version of America’s Sports Car is a real thing!

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