Evergreen

Sustainability isn’t just hype for KALMAR Automotive’s team, it’s a philosophy that underpins the business.

KALMAR Automotive has a core belief that the sports car of the future will arrive from the past.

Don’t believe anyone who tries to tell you the sports cars of the past are dead. They are very much alive and kicking at KALMAR Automotive. The automotive haute couture creators have just made them more sustainable than ever before, combining the timeless design of the past with the latest, cutting-edge technology of the future. Going green never looked so good.

Each KALMAR 7-97 can be specified as Evergreen, transferring this strict philosophy and adapting it to any specific commission.

KALMAR’s team of craftspeople adds new life to its cars in the purest form of upcycling by adding, upgrading, modifying, and engineering them to perfection. Through its new Evergreen innovations, each KALMAR creation can now benefit from further contemporary updates as technological developments like renewable fuels or even all-electric drivetrains become available.

Taking the carbon out of carbon fibre?

KALMAR Automotive has partnered with a leading Italian motorsports technology specialist YCOM, known for Le Mans-winning, record-breaking cutting-edge technology, to design and mould a complete plant fibre bodyshell for its more environmentally-conscious customers.

This revolutionary composite bodywork has immense strength and weight-reducing properties versus the original steel, whilst significantly reducing the comparative CO2 emissions of its carbon fibre-based relative. And since the flax plant fibres used have been absorbing carbon during their growth cycle, the production process will even have a negative CO2 footprint. The race is on to be the first in the world to bring this to market for the entire bodywork, and it looks like KALMAR Automotive will achieve that.

For clients wishing to keep the iconic air-cooled combustion engine there is also a model dedicated for that in the Evergreen range, which is compatible with sustainable e-fuels yet retains the internal combustion engine.

Adapting for E-fuels

Adapting for E-fuels developed for motorsport, which are soon to reach the forecourt

It’s no coincidence that one of the majority shareholders in KALMAR Automotive is none other than ‘Mr Le Mans’ himself, Tom Kristensen. The legendary nine-time winner of the famous endurance race has a never-ending bond with his spiritual home in La Sarthe, and it made absolute sense that the next step in the Evergreen evolution would be inspired by his connection.

The 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, will be entirely run on 100 per cent sustainable fuels using bioethanol from wine industry residues. As advancements led by fuel companies, motorsports and global car manufacturers filter into the consumer market, KALMAR Automotive is ensuring that all new 7-97 Evergreen vehicles are ahead of the game, adapting modified air-cooled Porsche engines to be market-ready for these emission-reducing fuels.

Reduce CO2

The fight to reduce CO2 is a natural part of the production

Why waste energy building something new when it has already been created before and can be recycled to become even better than the original? This is the overall idea behind the KALMAR Evergreen philosophy, but it does not end there.

In the Evergreen programme, the company commits to checking every nut and bolt to ensure it is not wasted. Not always the most cost-efficient solution but a great investment for the environment, if it can be re-used, it will be.

During conversion, the team checks all parts to see if they can be restored to better than new condition, and if that isn’t possible then they look into recycling and circular economy so others can benefit from the parts that cannot be used in the conversion.

Good condition, sought-after parts that are not of good enough quality to be used on these builds, but still have life in them, will be offered for sale to keep on providing another lease of life for other vehicles.

Items like the glass and some aluminium parts that will not be found in its original form on the final KALMAR conversion will be smelted and recast and used on the KALMAR 7-97 Evergreen models.

Upcycling a classic, retaining its core passion with more precision, bespoke elements and yet with a sustainable edge. Some say KALMAR vehicles are the greenest cars they’ve ever owned. Join the movement.