To celebrate the 40th anniversary of their father winning the 1986 Paris–Dakar Rally, Élodie and Jonathan Metge will enter the 2026 Africa Eco Race in a Porsche 959.

René Metge was a factory driver for Porsche in the 1980s, winning the 1984 and 1986 races with the German marque. The all-wheel-drive 959 was the successor to the 953 that won in 1984, featuring twice as much power with two turbochargers and double-wishbone suspension.

Élodie and her dad did the 2003 Dakar Rally together, where she served as his navigator as they finished 23rd. She returned to the race in 2005 as the co-driver for Sylviane Goutaland, placing 54th.

The elder Metge died in January 2024 at the age of 82, concurrent with Stage #2 of that year’s AER. He and Jean-Louis Schlesser co-founded the event in 2009 to follow the Dakar’s original route from Europe to Senegal following the Rally’s move to South America.

“My father made his dreams come true,” Élodie told AUTOhebdo. “He passed his values, his passion, his love of Africa and his deep humanity to us. Reaching Dakar in a Porsche is my dream, and it’s up to us to make it come true.”

The two will compete in the Historic class, a regularity-based category as opposed to the speed-and-time required of the main AER. For the rest of 2025, they plan to travel across France in their 959 to showcase the car and promote the sport.

“I got to to travel the world with my father and share his passion,” Jonathan said. “At each event he attended, I was able to see the enthusiasm of motorsport enthusiasts. It was a very enriching experience. Sharing is an core value that our father passed on to us.

“This project is a way for us to continue the story written by our father and to pass on the passion for rally raid to future generations.”

The 2026 Africa Eco Race will run from January 24 to February 7.

Featured image credit: Porsche