Kalmar 9X9 hits the ‘Ring for some testing

• Kalmar 9X9 spotted at the Nürburgring
• Car uses 993-generation Porsche 911 chassis
• Only nine examples planned and deliveries to start by mid-2025

Fresh from its debut in August during 2024 Monterey Car Week, the Kalmar 9X9 supercar has been spotted testing at Germany’s Nürburgring racetrack ahead of a planned start of deliveries in mid-2025.

Kalmar Automotive is a Danish company that specializes in restomodding Porsche 911s, particularly the 993 generation. The new 9X9 serves as a flagship of the brand, once again using the 993 as the basis but with influences coming from the iconic Porsche 959.

Kalmar is developing three separate versions of the 9X9—standard, Sport, and Leichtbau—but it isn’t clear what version is being tested here. The car in our spy shots appears to be the same car shown in Monterey, but it isn’t a customer example. Our spy shots reveal that the many makeshift elements are still fitted to the car, especially in the cabin.

The standard 9X9 is both the most comfortable and the most powerful. It’s designed for grand touring and comes with a turbocharged 3.8-liter flat-6 delivering 930 hp. It also comes with a dual-clutch automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive.

The Sport is designed to deliver a more focused experience, and features a turbocharged 3.0-liter flat-6 tuned to deliver 650 hp. This version also has all-wheel drive but skips the dual-clutch automatic in favor of a 7-speed manual transmission. The Sport is lighter than the standard 9X9, and its suspension is tuned more for carving up a track than for grand touring.

The Leichtbau, German for “lightweight construction,” is the option for purists. It keeps things simple with a naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-6 rated at 530 hp, plus a 6-speed manual, and rear-wheel drive. It even skips an airbag in its quest to save weight. This particular version weighs just 2,810 pounds, whereas the Sport weighs 2,866 pounds and the standard model about 3,030 pounds.

Despite being the heaviest, the standard 9X9 offers the quickest acceleration, requiring only about two seconds to sprint to 60 mph from rest, according to Kalmar. The Sport and Leichtbau will achieve the same feat in 3.7 and 3.5 seconds, respectively. The top speed for all three versions is governed at 211 mph, and Kalmar said simulations show a Nürburgring lap time of less than seven minutes is possible.

Each 9X9 starts off as a 993-generation 911. The cars get stripped down and given a roll cage (in this case hidden), plus various chassis modifications including bespoke suspension developed by Italy’s Danisi Engineering. The brakes are also a custom setup developed by CarboBrake, and include titanium calipers built using 3D printing.

Only nine examples of the 9X9 are destined to be built. That isn’t a big run but Kalmar only builds a handful of cars each year, and since each is made to a customer’s individual specifications, each Kalmar is a true one-off design.

Kalmar in the U.S. is represented by Canepa, former racing driver Bruce Canepa’s company that specializes in the sale, restoration, and customization of the Porsche 959, among other cars.