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Today’s winged Porsche 911 homage is the 930bhp Kalmar 9X9

Ever wondered what a Danish take on a 959 would look like? Course you have!

Published: 16 Aug 2024

Don’t worry, you’re not back at school, this isn’t a maths lesson about times-tables. The 9X9 is the latest work of Danish Porsche reimaginers Kalmar, who’ve previously given the world an electric 911 made of plants (really) and rally-ready versions like the RS-R. Tom ‘Mr Le Mans’ Kristensen has bought one too.

But all carmakers want a supercar to crown their range whether they admit it or not, and this is Kalmar’s: a carbon bodied 959-looking flagship with a choice of not one, not two, but three power outputs. Strap in.

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Top of the tree is the 3.8-litre twin-turbo version, delivering 930bhp to all four wheels via a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox. No word on where these parts may have been sourced from, but we’re betting Stuttgart is likely. Spec the blowers and you also get a lightweight F1-grade Inconel exhaust.

Clearly you can’t go shoving 930bhp up the backside of a 911 and expecting everything to be fine and dandy. In order to achieve a purported seven-minute lap of the Nurburgring, Kalmar has honed the bodywork to generate a claimed 1,450kg of downforce.

That… sounds like a lot to us – the state-of-the-art 992 GT3 RS claims 860kg at 177mph. Even an Aston Martin Valkyrie ‘only’ makes around 1,100kg of downforce.

No matter. You could always opt for a less bonkers 9X9. Try the ‘Sport’ model, which calms things down to the tune of ‘just’ 650bhp, via a 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six, still with AWD and a double-clutch transmission.

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Or, there’s the 9X9 Leichtbau, or lightweight. This sounds promising: no turbos, no paddles, and no front driveshafts. Just a six-speed manual and ‘a naturally-aspirated high revving 4.0L engine’. Y’know, like, a GT3 Touring.

Inside, Kalmar has sensibly kept an analogue rev counter (unlike the latest Porsche 911) and also ditched the radio and nav system – there’s still a Bluetooth system so you can hook up your phone for maps or playlists.

The company says each one will be coachbuilt to be totally unique, and buyers can expect to take delivery in July 2025. Question is, with the rebooted Porsche market saturated with talent, is this where your lottery win would go?

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