The team at Nantes Prestige Autos knows their way around Porsche rally cars, and that portfolio has earned them racing royalty as a client.

Élodie and Jonathan Metge, the children of three-time Dakar Rally champion René Metge, have contracted NPA to build them a Porsche 959 that they will run in the 2026 Africa Eco Race.

The 2026 AER, scheduled for January 24 to February 7, is on the 40-year anniversary of the older Metge winning the 1986 Paris–Dakar in a 959. His daughter Élodie raced the 2003 Dakar as the co-diver for her dad before navigating for Sylviane Goutaland in 2005. Jonathan has done races like the 4L Trophy and most recently the La Route des Légendes, the latter in a 1991 Range Rover.

Their father passed away during the 2024 AER, which he co-created with Jean-Louis Schlesser in 2009 to follow the original Dakar’s route. It therefore only made sense for the younger Metges to try it out themselves, while the Historic class means they could do so in a car like what René drove to victory in 1986. He also won the 1981 and 1984 events, the latter in a Porsche as well.

Nantes Prestige Autos is a French-based shop that specializes in building and restoring cars, especially (but not limited to) Porsches. In January, company boss Jérémy Athimon served as the navigator to Axel Berrier at the Dakar Classic, where their NPA-built Porsche 964 finished 35th overall and seventh in the H2.B class.

NPA also built a Porsche 959 for 2023 Classic winner Juan Morera, who finished sixth in the 2024 race before retiring the following year.

The Metges visited the shop on Thursday, bringing with them the trophy that their father got for winning the 1986 Dakar.

“The NPA team will roll up our sleeves and do everything possible to help the Metge duo complete their objective,” reads a statement from the company. “We will, of course, start by building a car that’s reliable and as close as possible to their father’s. The next step after that will be to support them in the race!”

Featured image credit: Fabricio Macedo / FOTOP