the 911 turbo motor needs the side vents to help cool the motor. that would not be ideal on a car kicking up dirt everywhere. the sport classic gets away without having side vents probably from some clever rerouting of intake air through the floor. someone can correct me if i’m wrong. the smaller turbos of gts give a quicker spool up as well, at the cost of top end power.

the gt3 4.0 is a relatively low torque motor. not ideal for climbing hills and sand dunes. especially with the dakar weighing like 500 pounds more than the gt3.

All I can say is - I have one and it’s as fast as it needs to be. Putting GT or turbo power In a lifted 911 would get the buying public into even more trouble on the roads than they will already get into it.