First Drive: This 930 HP Tribute to the Porsche 959 Is a Minimalist’s Restomod Packed With Performance

The British weather is doing its worst. The roads are smeared with a mulch of mud and wet leaves, and flooded in places by relentless rain. Squalls of icy wind cut through the denuded trees as leaden clouds smother the sunlight. Low-beam headlamps are needed even in the early afternoon. 

In such conditions, most vehicles of this type would feel incongruous and inappropriate, like slipping on a pair of Alcantara-trimmed loafers to hike up the Himalayas. Not so with the Kalmar 9×9. This “everyday hypercar” feels ready for anything November can throw at it. 

Jan Kalmar’s approach to building the 9×9 was informed by his background in the off-road-driving business. Kalmar Beyond Adventure offers a range of experiences, from drifting on Arctic snow to a 3,400-mile safari across Africa. The vehicles supplied are always Porsches—mostly 911s, but also the Cayman sports car and Cayenne SUV—and are heavily modified to cope with tough terrain.

The other side of his business, Kalmar Automotive, builds around 12 classic Porsche 911 restomods each year. However, a visit to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where he overheard people mistaking the air-cooled Kalmar 7-97 RS-R for a 911 reimagined by Singer, convinced the Danish entrepreneur (and former Porsche test driver) to look elsewhere for inspiration. He found it in Porsche’s 959.

“The Porsche 959 was so ahead of its time, it was like a laboratory on wheels,” says Kalmar. “It had active suspension, adaptive all-wheel drive, sequential twin-turbocharging, magnesium wheels, even a tire-pressure monitoring system. All this in the mid-1980s. Our car pays tribute to the 959, while bringing its technologies up to date.”

The 9×9 is assembled by Danisi Engineering in Turin, Italy, close to the “Motor Valley” that’s home to Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and Pagani. Each build starts with the shell of a 993-generation 911 (produced from 1994 through 1998), which is extended by 1.8 inches between the axles, clothed in aero-sculpted carbon fiber, then equipped with the engine, transmission, and electronics from a current 992-gen version of the 911. 

There are three rungs on the 9×9 ladder: Turbo, Sport, and Leichtbau. As you might expect, the first is based on a new 911 Turbo, with a PDK dual-clutch automatic transmission and four-wheel drive, plus other Turbo tech such as active engine mounts and rear-axle steering. Its 3.8-liter engine produces 930 hp, enabling a sprint from zero to 60 mph in “around 2.0 seconds,” according to Kalmar.

The Sport is a simpler, more driver-focused alternative, powered by a 641 hp, 3.0-liter flat-six, with sports suspension, four-wheel drive, and the option of a seven-speed manual gearbox. Lastly, there is the Leichtbau, which features the high-revving, 4.0-liter naturally aspirated engine from a 911 GT3, plus a six-speed manual ’box, rear-wheel drive, and “extreme weight reduction measures.” (The total weight savings is 285 pounds.) 

Every 9×9 will be bespoke and built to order, and Kalmar plans a limited run of 27 examples: nine of each derivative. Prices start from around $2.1 million, and the U.S. distributor is Canepa—well known for its own reimagined 959. In the UK, sales will be via DK Engineering, where Kalmar meets me in the car bearing his name. He’s driven it 800 miles from Turin to be here.

This particular 9×9 is a Turbo, the same vehicle shown at Pebble Beach this summer and which has since racked up more than 12,000 miles in testing. Being a prototype, there are a few rough edges and no sound insulation, but the driving experience is representative of the finished car. As the first journalist in the world to get behind the wheel, I feel an adrenalizing mix of excitement and apprehension. More than 900 hp seems daunting on a weather-challenged day like this one.

Even in the wintry gloom, the Kalmar packs a huge amount of presence. It’s less elegant than the actual soap-bar-smooth 959, but the steroidal arches and hungry intakes give it the air of a wild homologation special from the Group B era of rallying. Given that the original 959 sprang from the 1983 Porsche Gruppe B concept, that seems oddly appropriate. 

From the windshield forward, the 9×9 is recognizably 992-derived, with that car’s dynamic PDLS headlights, plus huge hood nostrils and wheel-arch vents that evoke the GT3 RS. The middle section of the body, including its glasshouse, owes more to the 993, while the chopped tail and hoop spoiler clearly riff on the 959. This prototype rides on center-lock alloy wheels (19 inches at the front, 20 inches at the rear), but production cars will have 959-style magnesium rims.

The 9×9’s interior also blends classic and modern, transposing current 911 switchgear onto a simple 993 dashboard. The vibe is neither luxurious GT nor bare-bones street racer, but somewhere in-between. Kalmar calls it “Scandinavian minimalism.”

I drop down into the carbon-fiber Recaro seat and pull the Alcantara-wrapped 992 steering wheel close to my chest. An analog rev counter sits front-and-center (redlined at 7,000rpm), with further information displayed on the digital screens either side. Play with the settings and you can even mimic the five-dial display of a classic 911.

Twist the start button and the rear-mounted flat-six fires with a brusque bark. I pull the toggle to engage drive, then edge gingerly into lunchtime traffic. The 993 twin wipers are working steadily and the lightly treaded Michelin tires are ostensibly outside their comfort zone. I try not to dwell on this one-off prototype’s value—or the fact that its proud creator is sitting beside me.  

Within a few miles, however, the 9×9 has put me at ease. Its PDK auto ’box and four-wheel drive feel as capable and reassuring here as in a new 992 Turbo, with smooth shifting and sure-footed traction. The difference comes when you flatten your right foot. For all its power and pace, no factory 911 Turbo ever felt quite like this.

The giddy rush of boost reminds me of McLaren’s most extreme supercars: a controlled explosion that is addictively intense, sucking in the road like a strand of spaghetti. Journalists invariably extol the virtues of a manual transmission, but with this much power on a damp surface, I’m thankful for the precision of the PDK, and the fact that, even when shifting via the paddles, I can keep my hands firmly on the wheel.  

With the aid of double wishbones and pushrod front suspension (“like a pure race car,” says Kalmar), the steering is alert and fantastically direct, with turn-in that feels more akin to an RS-badged 911 than a Turbo. At lower speeds, rear-axle steering also makes the 9×9 very maneuverable.

Most impressively, the 9×9 feels agile and resists roll without sacrificing comfort. Its five-stage, driver-adjustable TracTive shock absorbers are paired with softer springs than a GT3 for a genuinely pliant ride. Like the 959, its adaptive suspension also raises or lowers to suit the conditions, and to account for downforce at high speeds (3,263 pounds at the max). 

Lastly, it would be remiss not to mention the 9×9’s brakes, which Kalmar describes as a 959-style technological leap forward. Made by a German company called Carbo Brake, the huge carbon-ceramic discs are gripped by 3-D-printed titanium calipers. Their response is rather firm and hard to modulate—like a tennis ball is wedged beneath the brake pedal—but Kalmar says a new master cylinder will be fitted to production cars for a more progressive feel. “Racing drivers love this setup,” he explains, “but it isn’t so well suited to the road.” Back at DK Engineering, it’s time to return the keys to Kalmar, who plans to drive straight to the south of France for a program of track testing.

The 9×9 won’t be for everyone. It doesn’t have the jewel-like tactility of cars from Singer or Theon Design, for example, nor the heritage of a Ruf. However, in Turbo guise, the 9×9 nails its brief as an “everyday hypercar,” combining the almighty wallop of a tuned Turbo with the dynamism of a GT3 RS and the comfort of a Carrera. Factor in the look and innovative spirit of a 959 and Kalmar has created a car that stands out in the crowded market for 911-based restomods.

Click here for more photos of this 930 hp Kalmar 9×9 prototype Porsche restomod.