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Tata Blocked Porsche From Using The Safari Name - Here's Why We Got The 911 Dakar
German sportscar manufacturer Porsche recently revealed the 911 Dakar. However, Porsche really wanted to use the Safari name for the raised 911 but that move was blocked by Tata Motors.
German sportscar manufacturer Porsche recently revealed the 911 Dakar. However, Porsche really wanted to use the Safari name for the raised off-road special 911 but that move was blocked.
The one blocking Porsche from using the Safari name was Tata Motors, which has been selling the Safari SUV for quite a while now and owns the trademark for the name at least in the automotive domain.
This was revealed to Edmunds when the publication interviewed Thomas Krickelberg, director of the 911 Dakar program. Krickelberg told the publication that Porsche talked with Tata Motors but the Mumbai-based firm wasn't really in the mood to help the German out.
This is when Porsche switched to the Dakar name. However, Porsche found itself stuck once again. The German marque had hoped to use the name for free as it was the name of the capital city of Senegal and therefore hopefully in the public domain.
However, Porsche soon found out that the Dakar name, at least in the world of automobiles wasn't available, at least for free. In the automotive world, the Dakar name is owned by Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) which runs the Dakar Rally, the world's toughest rally.
Thankfully, ASO was more agreeable to Porsche's proposal and allowed the Germans to use the name for the special edition 911 once they paid the proper price for its use.
Allowing Porsche to use the Safari name was never on the cards for Tata Motors. The Safari name first appeared on a Tata SUV back in 1998 which acted as the flagship vehicle of the Tata lineup till 2020 when BS6 norms killed it. Not wanting the Safari name to die out, Tata plopped it onto the seven-seater version of the Harrier.
Thoughts About Tata Blocking Porsche From Using The Safari Name
The fact that Tata Motors blocked Porsche from using the Safari name may come as a surprise to some but this is quite a common practice in the automotive world. Copyright laws ensure that others cannot use whatever has been copyrighted without prior permission from the owner.