Kalmar 9x9: Retro Porsche 959 Homage With Double the Horsepower

The Kalmar 9x9 makes its global debut at The Quail during Monterey Car Week. Its carbon-fiber body resembles the Porsche 959, but there's a 930-horsepower engine at the back. Kalmar will offer the car in three trim levels, with customer deliveries slated to begin next July.

Kalmar Automotive makes absolutely no mention of Porsche in its annoucement for the green car you see here. One doesn't need to make a giant leap to connect the dots, however. The upright posture. The sloping roof. The big, flat rear wing. And then there's the name: 9x9. Kalmar claims this is the "world's first retro hypercar," and it clearly draws inspiration from the Porsche 959.

Whether it lives up to that namesake is anyone's guess. Kalmar Automotive does have some racing cred, though. For the last few years it's teased the 9x9 on its Porsche race cars at Le Mans, and the Denmark-based company also has the 7-97 line based on the classic 911. All that experience goes into the 9x9, developed over the course of several years and revealed to the world at The Quail during Monterey Car Week.

If you want to build a retro hypercar with shades of 959, sticking a 930-horsepower turbocharged flat-six in the back is a good start. The 3.8-liter mill sends power to all four wheels through a dual-clutch transmission (there's no mention of where the gearbox was sourced).

If that sounds like too much to handle, Kalmar will build a 9x9 Sport with 650 hp and a seven-speed manual. Or you can opt for the 9x9 Leichtbau—a lightweight version with a six-speed stick and a naturally-aspirated 4.0-liter engine driving just the rear wheels. Power isn't mentioned at this level, but Kalmar says the Leichtbau weighs 2,755 pounds.

Regardless of the power, all 9x9s feature a full carbon-fiber body atop a bespoke double-wishbone pushrod suspension with adaptive dampers and rear-wheel steering. It has 3D-printed titanium brake calipers with ceramic discs, all mounted behind magnesium wheels. Considerable attention was given to aerodynamics, finding a good balance of retro style with enough downforce to grip a racetrack.

Inside, you'll find accommodations for two people and little else. The 9x9's primary mission is to create an epic driving experience, so there's no infotainment system or even a radio. It does have LCD screens for the driver's display, and there's a hidden roll cage incorporated into the cockpit. Stability and traction controls are present, too. It's not a wholly analog experience.

Kalmar Automotive doesn't mention pricing or production, but the company hopes to start customer deliveries in July 2025.