Kalmar Gives The Porsche 997 The Safari Treatment

Sad you didn’t get your hands on a Porsche 911 Dakar now that production’s ended and used prices are predictably limited-run-Porsche levels of silly? Happily, Danish Porsche customiser and restorer Kalmar Automotive may have a solution for you in the shape of its RS-7, a Safari-fied version of the Porsche 997.

It’s the latest in Kalmar’s ‘Beyond Adventure’ series that’s already seen the 993, 996 and even the original Cayman get an off-road makeover, and it could well be the most modern member of the 911 family to get the treatment.

Kalmar RS-7 – side

That’s because after the 997 generation, the 911 moved from a full steel chassis to a bonded aluminium and steel one, which, in the words of Kalmar’s founder, Jan Kalmar, is harder to fix “with a hammer and a welder when you are… in the middle of nowhere.”

The 997’s exterior hasn’t been trifled with too much – there’s a redesigned front bumper with bigger air intakes, and the rear’s been reworked for better heat dissipation. A rally-style lightpod helps with visibility but more importantly looks really cool, as does the ducktail rear spoiler. Enlarged and flared arches allow for the fitment of beefier off-road tyres, not particularly illustrated by the skinny snow tyres on this car. Also, it’s stripy. We assume other colour schemes are available.

Kalmar RS-7 – interior

Interior changes are similarly subtle, largely amounting to a roll cage, Recaro CS bucket seats, a new lightweight Bluetooth sound system and new displays in the centre console for navigation and shock adjustment. Kalmar will, however, strip things out further if so required.

Naturally, it’s underneath where all the hard work’s been done. The RS-7 rides on an active hydraulic suspension system from Tractive, with adaptive damping and hydraulic adjustment. The whole chassis has been braced and armoured with aluminium, and the car’s subframes have been dropped for greater ground clearance. That, by the way, is 210mm in the suspension’s lowest setting and 240mm in its highest.

Kalmar RS-7 – rear

Optional bits include the modular roof rack you see in these pics, a lightweight package, and unspecified engine upgrades. We don’t know how much all this costs, but if you’ve got a 997 that Britain’s pothole epidemic is making you too scared to use, it feels worth it.