Spirit of Speed Arctic 2026
“Driving a rally-prepped Porsche on a frozen lake north of the Arctic Circle sounds like a bucket-list fantasy—but after a full day behind the wheel in Finland, it turned into the single greatest driving experience of my life. From sliding classic 911s across ice to ripping through snow-covered rally stages, this wasn’t just another press trip—it was a masterclass in control, speed, and pure adrenaline”.
Founder Jan Kalmar spent years with Porsche proper exploring Finland for customer and media drive programs, then got fed up with the timidity typical of a regimented corporate environment and started hosting his own safari-style adventures across the globe with the motto “We start where others stop.” Kalmar himself entirely lacks tact, a trait that helps establish this trustworthiness as something between a modern mad scientist and an 18th-century expedition leader. The builds required to live up to both his mindset and that slogan—911s of all generations, but also Cayenne SUVs and even mid-engined Caymans—feature extensive prep in order to survive weeks of brutal treatment across Africa, South America, and Australia.
A KALMAR trip always stops at the most spectacular locations available, either erecting tiny tent cities or loafing about the swankiest hotels on Earth. But the regulation-style rally timing forces Kalmar’s participants into a level of camaraderie so often lost in the otherwise ostentatious indulgence of so many resort-style vacations. Then, the realization hit that all the suspension lifts, armoring, and off-road kit also perfectly prepared KALMAR Automotive’s cars for ice driving—and so the journey came full circle, back to Finland for a separate winter series dubbed “Spirit of Speed.”
