The Porsche 911 – in prototype form – started life in 1963 as a fairly simple, rear-wheel-drive offering from the fledgling Porsche motor car company. Ferdinand Porsche had designed the VW Beetle, but his grandson Ferdinand Alexander Porsche would eclipse that ubiquitous car with the 911, giving it the badge of his family name.

Celebrating 60 years since it was built, the model has become so many things to so many people as the line-up’s expanded over the decades to cover every occasion. It can be everything from an open-top boulevard cruiser, autobahn barnstormer, painted art car, a surgical racing tool with Le Mans-winning credentials to a practical family car (almost), with two seats in the back to lull a young family into thinking it’s the perfect 2+2. The fact that it has survived so long is testament to that initial design, and throughout its storied history there have been many memorable versions that aficionados have swooned over.

The first Turbo car of the 1970s, nicknamed “The Widowmaker”, and the RUF-modified Yellow Bird, which enabled the 911 to smash through the 200mph barrier and beyond – both sit as chapter points in the 911 storybook. There has even been a one-off “Sally Special” – a real car based on the animated Sally Carrera in the Pixar film Cars – which fetched $3.6m at auction. Yet, for many, including this writer, the favourite landmark 911s are unquestionably the 911 Safaris from the ’80s. Back in 1984, a small team of engineers at Porsche, spurred on by legendary race car driver Jacky Ickx, created a 4×4 911 to tackle the almighty challenge of the Paris-Dakar Rally. On the face of it, this was an outlandish idea. The Dakar (as it is now known) is the toughest motor race in the world. “Off-road” doesn’t do the terrain justice. This race throws everything at you and is the pre-eminent test of off-road endurance for man and machine. Tackling it in a jacked-up sports car was not an obvious, or seemingly sensible, choice. Yet, incredibly, one of the three Porsches entered won the race with René Metge behind the wheel.

Porsche would repeat the trick two years later in a car based on the 959, the 911’s high-tech supercar sibling, before the project was shelved and the off-road 911 factory specials passed into Porsche folklore. Almost 30 years later and approaching the model’s 60th birthday, the boardroom was clearly having a carefree day and breezily signed off on a 911 derivative to celebrate those glory days in the desert. The 911 Dakar was born and so becomes the first production 911 to leave the road behind. From a visual perspective, much has changed from your tarmac-hugging 911. There are stainless-steel underbody protection plates and towing hooks front and rear. Optional roof rack and lightbar give it the intrepid look, but the obvious departure from the norm is the heightened stance – 50mm above standard, which can be raised a further 30mm for hardcore off-roading. It is finished off with Pirelli Scorpion all-terrain tyres with the de rigueur knobbly look.

Step inside, however, and it all seems quite normal 911 territory, save for the rear seat delete and an optional roll cage. Look a little closer, though, and you get something no 911 has ever had before – driving modes of “Offroad” and“Rallye”. These help the car come alive in the environments for which it has been built. The extra ground clearance means you can veer off the congested roads at your leisure in search of adventure. The balance and power mean lurid slides can be achieved on sand, snow or ice. Underneath, you get the twin-turbo 3.0 litre flat6 engine from the Carrera GTS and four-wheel drive, naturally. To make this particular flavour of 911, they have gone into the 911 toybox and pulled out the fun stuff. You can specify it with a commemorative Dakar race livery. At an £18,000 premium, your Dakar will be transported back to the ’80s with the same paint and stickers as the cars driven by Jacky Ickx and co, except the Rothmans logo has been modified to “Rough roads”, as it’s a bit passé to advertise fags on your car these days.

The 911 Dakar seems to have come along at the perfect time. It strikes a chord with what many people want from a “sports” car. Not a hardcore weapon that is all about chasing lap times and terminal speed, but something a little more supple and, well, fun. It brings out your inner child (if you have ever actually grown up in the first place) and puts a smile on your face. Jump in it and head back to the sandpit (literally) to have a play. This potential future classic is the newest member of the 911 family, which seems to have every character in its line-up. If our current favourite TV family, the Roys in Succession, were 911s, it would look something like this: Logan Roy is the 911 Sport Classic – a throwback, but still a commanding presence and the most expensive 911 currently available. His firstborn, Connor Roy, would be a “bog standard” 911 Carrera – simple and not too taxing. Shiv would be a Targa 4 GTS – a chameleon that can change its spots in an instant. Tom Wambsgans is a bit of an airhead from outer appearances, but capable of extreme speed and purpose when needed, so it has to be the Turbo S Cabriolet. Kendall Roy is the 911 GT3 RS – fast and on the edge, but almost a bit too much to handle. And the 911 Dakar –well, that has to be Roman Roy, played by Kieran Culkin, the naughtiest boy in the school who can’t take anything too seriously. Why go too fast and hard when there is fun to be had sliding sideways when others are driving seriously in straight lines. I know who I’d like to hang out with.

From £173,000; porsche.com/uk