The automotive aftermarket is seemingly obsessed with the idea of a Safari 911, basically lifting the suspension to make the car better at rallying and more livable. A few companies already offer vintage 911 Safari cars, and a few have plans to build one based on the new 2021 Porsche 911 Carrera. But what if Porsche decided to offer a lifted variant of the 911 from the factory?

Rumors of a Safari 911 from Porsche date all the way back to 2013, but we haven't seen any concrete evidence. Until now, that is. In a YouTube video showing Industry Pool Prototype testing on the Nurburgring Nordschleife, Porsche was just spotted testing what appears to be a Safari 911.

The car in question is a 911 Carrera S unlike any other we've spotted before. It features massive wheel arch extensions, which are likely there for testing purposes. We can tell that the vehicle sits higher than a standard 911, especially as the car veers down a dip on the track and provides a better angle. While it certainly looks lower than a crossover, this prototype 911 could easily pull up to a parking block without fear of scraping the front end. Such a 911 would not be the quickest in Porsche's lineup, but with 379 horsepower in Carrera guise and 443 hp as an S model, it would still hustle.

The 911 Safari was easily the biggest surprise in the video, but there are a few other noteworthy cars in there too, including the upcoming 992 generation 911 GT3 RS. We also spotted some prototypes for upcoming vehicles such as the 2022 Land Rover Range Rover, the 2021 BMW X4 M facelift, 2021 BMW M4 Convertible, and the Audi RS3. Mercedes-AMG was also spotted testing the AMG GT Black Series, which is working hard to set a new Nurburgring lap record.