Kalmar Expands Their Custom Safari 911 Range To The 997

The safari-style 911 is now a well-established genre of rear-engine sports car, especially with the Porsche’s very own 911 Dakar. So it’s no surprise that Kalmar Beyond Adventure, the off-road and adventure experience division of Jan Kalmar’s Porsche modifying company, has expanded its safari offerings. Until recently, the off-road 911s the company has offered have been air-cooled ones, or the first of the water-cooled models, the 996. It will now build 997 models for customers. So people will be able to get their off-road fix while enjoying the comfort and convenience of a more modern 911, and having round headlights.

The Standard Mods Are A Step Above The RS-6

Kalmar’s first RS-6, while quite functional, doesn’t stray far from the looks of the standard 996, save for the tall ride height. The RS-7 goes further. It features unique front and rear bumpers with aluminum bars. These have larger air inlets and outlets to increase cooling ability, plus they look more aggressive and purposeful. Around the sides, Kalmar fits kevlar composite fender flares that are wider and have larger radius opening to ensure plenty of clearance for the off-road wheels and tires. Similar to the RS-6, it also gets a roof-mounted spare tire carrier, which can also have an optional cargo carrier system added. Another option available is the auxiliary light pod, fitted to the hood. Each RS-7 gets a custom vinyl wrap, too.

Mechanical upgrades are also a bit fancier than a standard RS-6. The RS-7 comes standard with adjustable, adaptive hydraulic suspension from TracTive, rather than the RS-6’s more conventional springs and shocks. As for the rest, it’s similar to the RS-6. The subframes have been dropped to help increase ground clearance and suspension travel. At standard ride height, the RS-7 sits at 8.26 in., and at the raised height, it sits at 9.44 in. That’s a quarter inch away from the ground clearance of a base Jeep Wrangler. Kalmar also fits an extra oil cooler, limited-slip differential, shock top mount reinforcements and aluminum skid plates across the entire undercarriage.

Kalmar gives the interior some attention, too. It fits Recaro CS seats with Pepita pattern fabric. It also removes the factory infotainment and sound system in the name of weight reduction. But to keep customers from going tuneless, it does at a Bluetooth speaker and USB charger. A roll cage fills up the rear.

Related

Kalmar Will Build You An Affordable 911 Dakar Based On A 996 Porsche

Cheaper is always better when it comes to bashing cars off-road.

There’s No Pricing Listed, But It’s Probably Expensive

Indeed, Kalmar Beyond Adventure doesn’t give a list price for the RS-7 conversion. It previously estimated the price of an RS-6 conversion at about $49,000. Since the RS-7 includes more expensive parts and additional body modifications, we would expect the cost to be significantly more than the RS-6. You’ll also need to provide your 997, and will probably wait a few months for the car to be finished, as is the case with the RS-6. Plus, you can spend even more for optional extras like the lights, or other custom upgrades off-menu, such as other interior changes or engine upgrades for more power. Still, we’d happily bet that a base RS-7 will still come in well below a 911 Dakar. And since it’ll just be a relatively common 997 underneath, you can properly use it off road without worrying you’ll ruin a very rare and valuable 911 example.