INTERVIEW: How Kalmar has recreated the Porsche 959

That judgement holds water as you take a closer look. The sculpted bodywork is meticulously detailed, while the interior reflects the simplistic nature of the 959 with a minimalist modern approach, all the while retaining elements of the 993 upon which they’re based.

We got an even closer look as we rode along with the company’s founder, Jan Kalmar, as he drove the 9x9 3,000km from Milan to London for its first proper test on public roads. It’s had plenty of testing at the Nürburgring, but Jan was keen to emphasise that his latest creation is about more than just setting times on a race track.

“We want drivers to experience a car, which… and it might sound stupid, or wrong, but it’s easy,” he said. “I want the car to be easy. I want the car to feel like you’re pulling on a glove and it’s made for you, and through this be motivated to explore the limits.”

The journey to building this car began at the Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, when in 2022, Kalmar arrived for the first time with the 7-97 and immediately began to garner attention.

“There was a lot that looked at the car and compared [it] to other competitors in this market, and that was in the beginning something that made me very proud.”

“But after having heard it enough times it was like, ‘no, we need to find our own way’. You are never able to pass if you’re always walking in other people’s footsteps. And that was why the 9X9 was created as extreme as it really is.”

So, the Kalmar 9x9 is a statement piece attempting to underline the unique qualities of this small team from Denmark. It would be easy to position the 9x9 among a growing list of Porsche-based restomods, but Jan is keen to try and avoid that comparison.

“Do I consider Kalmar Automotive to be a restomod? No, no, no. I love restomods, but restomod is something one person does in their own garage. What we do, I honestly believe, it’s much more than this.

“I think we drove this car 10,000km in a full-size simulator before we started building the car. To me it’s more than a restomod, but it doesn’t mean that restomod is bad. It’s just something different we do.”

It’s true the work that’s gone into the development of the 9x9 is more akin to that of a Formula 1 car. The design team, self-proclaimed “technical nerds,” drew up the initial concept using CFD (computational fluid dynamics), which underwent several iterations before eventually taking form as the completed car we see today.

“In the beginning we struggled to get the rear end to work, from an aesthetic point of view. We went through many, many revisions. Right now, the rear really stands out as something special.”

“I like the side intakes; I like that the car’s compact. We had to do a lot of changes in the front because we had some aerodynamic issues. It’s capable of 340kph now, that meant we had to introduce the louvres on the front, which challenged the cleanliness of the car, but we managed to integrate them, I think, in a cool, technical way.”

But what makes this car truly special is the level of customisation that’s not just available to customers, but forced upon them. There’s no configurator, no spec sheets, no standard trim. Everything is bespoke, and that’s an important element for Kalmar.

“We actually, when we sign an agreement with customers, state that this is one of a kind. We never make two the same colour, two the same specification, and we go to the extreme. We have customers that have asked for some special aerodynamic enhancements, then with our technical team we validate that this is possible and we create that.

“It’s not just a matter of colour, it’s also the stiffness of the bushes, the suspension, spring rates, roll bars, power delivery, how the throttle correlates to the engine. Our customers usually say they feel like car designers when they’ve been through the process because it is so bespoke.”

Impressive stuff. Here then is a car that is built specifically to the whims of an owner, which on the one hand makes them remarkable feats of engineering, but perhaps a little tricky to transfer to an owner should the need arise. Although we suspect something so desirable as an homage to one of the greatest cars ever made is unlikely to be met with much reservation.

It is, after all, an opportunity to drive a car that closely resembles, with some modern twists, the car that became a cornerstone for Porsche. The 959 is often lauded as the first ever hypercar, so far ahead of its time that the rest of the motoring industry took years to catch up. It’s a legendary car, and one that Kalmar has striven to do justice.

“But I have this deep desire of making a difficult challenge, and this was a difficult challenge. Not copying but a homage to something created almost 40 years ago where some of the things today are still modern.”

A challenge indeed, and one that at times Jan felt would be unachievable.

“Sometimes you feel like it’s like rolling a ball uphill, and you hope that you soon reach the top. It has been difficult, there’s been many, many ups and downs. But for me to sit here, drive on a French highway, putting cruise control on, doing 130kph is erasing a lot of the down and creating a big up. It’s been difficult, but worth the fight and worth the struggle.”

And now the initial work is done, Kalmar has already confirmed plans to deliver 27 9x9s, each an exclusive opportunity to experience a reimagining of the original hypercar.

“We have three models. This is the turbo that I’m driving now, it’s doing 930PS (684kW) and 1,040Nm (767lb ft). It weighs just around 1,400kg wet, and it’s producing at peak more than 1,000kg of downforce.

Kalmar’s official quoted figures put this turbocharged ‘Comfort’ model, powered by the 3.8-litre flat-six of a 992 Turbo S, will accelerate from 0-62mph in around two seconds on the way to an electronically limited 211mph top speed.

Nine of those will be built, alongside nine ‘Sport’ and nine ‘Leichtbau’ (lightweight) models. The Sport will feature a 3.0-litre turbocharged engine taken from the 992 GTS 4.0 producing 650PS (478kW), and the Leichtbau takes the naturally-aspirated 4.0-litre engine from the 992 GT3. The Sport is the slowest package, going from 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds, the lightweight will complete the sprint in 3.5 seconds. But outright performance is only half of the battle.

“The most important aspect we had to nail, and that was very difficult to nail, was a car that you want to drive, not that you feel you have to drive. These cars are not cheap, and I really want the customers to buy this car and to drive this car. That was and is the most important aspect.”

An aspect reflected in the variety of configurations available. The most powerful Comfort specification features Porsche’s PDK transmission and all-wheel drive. Sport also has four driven wheels, but offers a seven-speed manual ‘box. The Leuchtbau is the one for purists, with a six-speed manual sending power exclusively to the rear wheels. There’s no denying Kalmar’s commitment to Jan’s ideals, the 9x9 is a car intended to satisfy the world’s keenest drivers.

“We’ve tried to make the car analogue in its appearance, with very few switches and no navigation. No big screen there, because for me it quickly goes out of fashion. Our dashboard is a mix of analogue and LCD to compress all the necessary information for the drivers.”

“It’s not just a body kit stuck on a 993. There’s so much gone into it. If we start at the front, it’s a double-wishbone pushrod suspension. We had to go with pushrod because we have a four-wheel-drive option also.

“The shock absorbers are extremely sophisticated with adaptive valving. We have adjustable ride height, front axle lift system, the gearbox we control ourselves with how we distribute the power, it’s aligned through the weight distribution.

“On the engine, we have our own intake system, our own turbos, our own exhaust, which are created together with an amazing team of companies that has supported us in the development.

“Last, but not least I would say, are the brakes. With a small partner, we have created what I believe is an industry first with 3D printed titanium calipers which are superior in weight, strength and airflow. It is, as I say, not just a body kit. It’s a ground-up development.”

The phrase ‘no stone unturned’ springs to mind. The team at Kalmar have aimed for the stars with the 9x9, and there’s certainly no questioning the commitment behind this project. We’ll reserve judgement on the execution until we’ve had the chance to drive it, but the early signs are good. It looks, feels and sounds absolutely immense.

“I want the cars to be drivable,” Jan says. “They’re not garage queens. On the technical solution, the nerdiness is really what comes higher than volume, and let’s say image. They are well-engineered cars. That is the most important thing.”