It’s a battle between off-road supercars this week, as the Drive team chooses between (and builds) the high-riding versions of the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato and Porsche 911 Dakar.
Customisation is in vogue at the moment, but choice can be seriously confusing. In our configurator challenge, we let the Drive team loose on a manufacturer’s website to create their ideal combination for a certain model.
In the past fortnight we’ve seen the unveiling of two new, hotly-anticipated, off-road-ready supercars, Germany’s Porsche 911 Dakar and Italy’s Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. But which would the Drive team pick, how would they option them – and why?
Let us know which of these two cars you’d select, and how you’d build yours (do so for the Porsche here, or the Lamborghini here).
Kez Casey, Production Editor
I’m not going to sugar-coat it, these two off-roaders are probably the supercars I’ve been most excited about for a very long time. As much as I adore the 911 Dakar, the attention-seeking Lambo gets my Monopoly money for this challenge.
Where the Dakar is quite good at being subtle (and is all the better for it) the punk-rock Sterrato creams for attention, so it makes sense to opt for matte Viola Rubus, on both the main bodywork, and the lower body cladding (although the available bronze cladding option was hard to let go of).
The full decal package (sans 63 bonnet insignia) in grey and white is about as understated as attention-seeking gets, and to tie the colour scheme together, the ‘standard’ 19-inch matte titanium wheels tend to work the best in this spec, whilst also looking the most iconically Lamborghini.
Inside the grey and purple theme carries on with Grigio Octans and Viola Arene leather and Alcantara interior trim (but sadly there’s no purple seatbelt option) and a steering wheel marker to match. Other than that I’ve kept it simple, and apart from aluminium-trimmed floor mats, I’ve left extraneous carbon-fibre trims out of my Sterrato.
Paul Gover, Senior Journalist
It has to be the Porsche. It’s not even a contest.
I have clear memories of Jacky Ickx, a legendary driver at Le Mans in a string of 24-hour winning Porsches, proving his all-round skill as he raced through the desert in the 959 off-road rocket.
Alan Hamilton, Australia’s Porsche importer at the time, also had one of the Dakar desert cars for a time in his Melbourne collection and seeing it up close was a revelation – even without the Rothmans racing livery.
Those classic competition colours, even without the Rothmans tagline, are also my pick and I would take the car just as specified for the launch. Porsche usually gets those things right.
Why not the Lamborghini? It looks wicked and the sound would be wild, but would I really want to be heading down a gravel road in a Huracan …
Tom Fraser, Journalist
What a world we’re living in where off-road supercars are a thing! While the allure of an off-road Porsche 911 is hard to ignore, you can’t walk past a rough-stuff-ready Lamborghini.
I’ve gone for Oro Elios for the exterior, a colour which I came to love on the Lamborghini Diablo. I’ve got body-coloured splitters and bash plates which tie-in the colour combo nicely, plus a set of gloss black wheels to match the black overfenders. In an ideal world I’d have a roof box mounted atop the car, or would get rid of the roof rails altogether – they look a little silly as they present now.
Inside the cabin we’ve got black leather and Alcantara throughout, which is highlighted by dark green elements. I love the full-carbon door cards and fabric door pulls, plus the roll cage is pure theatre.
Ben Zachariah, Journalist
My head may say 911 Dakar – a car that I believe would be an absolutely brilliant all-rounder – but I simply cannot go past a jacked-up V10 supercar.
Turn up to a supercar meet and the Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato will be a guaranteed crowd pleaser, but this will no doubt bring untold joy to the owner too.
For my dream build, I’ve gone with Bianco Asopo for the exterior – also known as matte white – to contrast the matte black wheel and bumper cladding. Matte purple was very tempting, but I firmly believe it’s better off going with a subdued colour for such a loud car (figuratively and literally).
A set of matte bronze 19-inch Morus wheels have been chosen, which hide the green brake calipers for that splash of colour. A matte black rear Lamborghini badge and exhaust tips, and a set of matte black roof rails and crossbars have been optioned so I can mount a cool-looking BMX I have no intention of ever using.
Inside is all Alcantara, everything Alcantara, with contrast Verde Fauns (green) stitching and seat belts, carbon fibre, and a titanium roll cage. It’s almost criminal that it doesn’t come standard with a rear-view camera and Apple CarPlay, but those options have been ticked, along with the addition of an emergency kit for someone to steal and put up on eBay.
The Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato is such a wickedly cool car, I’m so pleased those at the company pitched it and management approved it. A high-riding, V10-powered, wedge-shaped supercar that won’t scrape on driveways or speed humps – what more could you ever need?
Jordan Mulach, Journalist
If Santa decided this was my year to win Lotto (an interesting prospect given I’ve never bought a ticket) then this is what I would spend my winnings on.
As a retro motorsport fan, I would struggle to walk back to my Porsche 911 Dakar if it wasn’t wrapped in the rally tribute livery. Maybe I would pay extra for someone else to put on the correct sponsor name, although driving around as a moving cigarette advertisement might not be all it seems.
In addition to the spectacular livery, the $54,730 ‘Rallye Design Package’ includes black and blue bucket seats, plus a blue centre stripe on the steering wheel.
For a bit of extra privacy and comfort, the $1150 noise insulated and tinted glass option is a definite must, although if things get too quiet inside then the $6700 Burmester surround sound system would allow me to enjoy the Drive podcast at maximum volume.
Sticking with the racing roots, it would be wrong not to option the Porsche Design sub-second clock ($2100) and the Rallye Sport Package ($7350) – complete with a roll cage, fire extinguisher and six-point racing harness.
By the time all of these options have been added, the 911 Dakar will cost an extra $72,040, pushing its $491,400 list price to $563,440 plus on-road (or in this case, off-road) costs.
At that price, my 911 Dakar is about $60,000 more expensive than the new GT3 RS – a tricky justification. Maybe I just need one more year to work out what I want, is that alright Santa?
Alex Misoyannis, Journalist
As cool as the Huracan Sterrato (the most extravagant way to say “dirt road”, I must note) is – and knowing it’s the last of its kind – the 911 Dakar has a less ‘shouty’ personality that appeals to me.
The first option box I ticked in the configurator was going to be the Rothmans (sorry, Roughroads) livery, as it’s streaks ahead of any of the solid colours Porsche offers for this car.
For that reason it’s likely to be a very, very popular option. But after seeing both of my 911 Dakar-loving colleagues tick the box, I went with something different: the subdued (but still a little bit wild) Violametallic, one of the $20,740 Paint to Sample colours.
There aren’t many other option boxes to tick, frankly. The big-ticket options include a carbon-fibre roof for $7470, Burmester surround sound system for $6700, and a gloss black exterior trim package for $3160.
I’ve gone for some key no-cost options: 18-way adaptive sports seats plus (replacing the standard carbon buckets), a heated leather steering wheel (I don’t like suede wheels), the summer performance tyres, and heated seats.
There are also carbon window triangle trims for $1050, 911 Dakar door courtesy lights for $600, leather steering column for $750, and Guards Red seatbelts for $930.
The total price is $532,800 plus on-road costs, or $41,400 above the base price. A decent ask for a car ready to attack the kerbs at my local Coles.
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