The Porsche 911 is a great sports car, but you can unlock other possibilities. A few upgrades can turn the low-slung icon into an off-road superstar. Porsche and aftermarket tuners have been modifying the 911 this way for years. Several examples from Kalmar Automotive demonstrated their capability by completing an arduous 6,835 mile (11,000 kilometer) journey across the South American continent.
The 39-day journey began in Lima, Peru, and ended in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern tip of the continent. Along the journey, the cars and their crews, joined by a few Cayenne crossovers, experienced some of South America’s most incredible natural wonders and harshest off-road environments.
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The journey took them to Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, the Atacama Desert and the Uyuni Salt Flats, the largest in the world. They also drove parts of the Pan American Highway on their journey south. The trip was part of Kalmar Beyond Adventure’s Trans-Andes Rally, which organized the private teams. It is a sister company of Kalmar Automotive, which prepared the 911 series 964 and 993. It also builds them for customers.
Kalmar Automotive offers several bespoke Porsche models, including conversions for the Cayenne. The Kalmar RS and RS-R are the company’s rally-inspired cars, with the RS-R being the hotter of the two. An RS-R build starts with a 3.9-liter air-cooled flat-six engine that develops 345 horsepower (253 kilowatts), but tuning can increase that. The RS-R is also available with a larger 4.1-liter engine that produces over 400 hp (294 KW) and 400 lb-ft (400 Newton-meters) of torque. KA offers the car in a rear- or all-wheel-drive configuration, and it’s based on the Kalmar 7-97, a non-off-road offering.
The two off-road Porsche 911s receive several other upgrades beyond the powertrain. These include underbody protection, roll bars, upgraded suspension with uprated shocks, unique wheels, and more. Cayenne upgrades come in two versions: Kalmar CS and CS-R. KA also offers a high level of individualization with each model, allowing the customer to craft their perfect Porsche 911.
