The Porsche 911 is a great sports car, but you can open up other possibilities. A few upgrades can turn the low-slung icon into an off-road superstar. Porsche and aftermarket tuners have modified the 911 this way for years. Several examples from Kalmar Automotive demonstrated their worth by completing an arduous 6,835 mile (11,000 kilometer) journey across the South American continent.
The 39-day journey begins in Lima, Peru, and ends in Ushuaia, Argentina, the continent’s southernmost point. Along the way, the car and its crew, joined by several Cayenne crossovers, experience 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 passed part of the Pan-American highway on their way south. The trip was part of the Kalmar Beyond Adventure Trans-Andean rally, which organized a team of privateers. It is a sister company to Kalmar Automotive, which prepared the 911 series 964 and 993. It also builds them for customers.
Kalmar Automotive offers several bespoke Porsche models, including a convertible for the Cayenne. The Kalmar RS and RS-R are the company’s rally-inspired cars, with the RS-R being the hottest of the two. The design of the RS-R started with a 3.9-liter air-cooled six-cylinder engine producing 345 horsepower (253 kilowatts), but tuning can increase it. The RS-R was also available with a larger 4.1-liter engine producing over 400 hp (294 KW) and 400 pound-feet (400 Newton-meters) of torque. KA offers the car in rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive configurations, and is based on the Kalmar 7-97, a non-off-road offering.
The two off-road Porsche 911s received several other improvements beyond the powertrain. These include underbody protection, roll cage, upgraded suspension with raised shock absorbers, unique wheels and more. The Cayenne upgrade comes in two flavors – Kalmar CS and CS-R. KA also offers a high degree of individualization with each model, enabling clients to create their perfect Porsche 911.
