Jan Kalmar, Automotive Adventurer and Entrepreneur

Photo Kim Tonning

When he’s not building retro hypercars and restomod Porsches, Jan Kalmar hosts incredible driving adventures all over the planet.

At the age of just 14 years Jan Kalmar announced to his parents that he had bought a ticket to Australia and would be gone for a month. His yearning to explore the world has never abated and he founded Kalmar Beyond Adventure to share his passion, developing driving experiences using classic Porsches modified to take the rough with the smooth. Kalmar has visited some 138 countries and driven almost every route imaginable. Is it even possible for him to choose a favourite?

“The Stelvio Pass was my first love affair with the road. ”

— Jan Kalmar

“The Stelvio Pass was my first love affair with the road. Then there was the Transfăgărășan in Romania where I once used a set of tyres going up. There was nothing left, I absolutely maxed out. I have a cool video of that and and people were cheering. But now, after Top Gear went there, it's so crowded, so, it's very hard to find good tarmac passes. The Transalpina, which is next to it, is better and more dangerous.

Then there's the Caucasus highway in Georgia, going up to skiing resort. It’s unbelievable, and we did a press trip when I was still in bed with Porsche. We did a press trip with Panameras from Istanbul to Baku. I had two trucks of sports cars secretly brought up there for the journalists to drive. So that is a really cool road, but it's also, it's also a bit like Stelvio and you can’t go fast there anymore. Right next to Stelvio there's Garvia, which is, in my opinion, much better than Stelvio, but there's so much traffic, these days.

Now I'm more likely to choose a windy gravel road over African Highland, where you’re not in a hurry and can just enjoy it. My trips are quite egotistical. I have a big map in my living room and I decide where I want to go and then I create a story around going there.”

Words Nik Berg

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