KALMAR’s Beyond Adventure Morocco Extreme is currently running, as is intense testing through demanding desert and mountain terrain. The fleet of cars includes KALMAR 7-97 Evo (7-97 range), the RS-7 and RS (Safari range). These cars are in different stages of their development and are now being used in real conditions rather than controlled testing environments.
Founder Jan Kalmar says the approach is simple: “We test in public.”
The Beyond Adventure Morocco Extreme is not a closed test program. It is a shared driving experience where the environment itself becomes the proving ground. The drive begins in Marrakesh and continues through the Erg Chigaga region and into the dunes around Merzouga, a known area for rally raid preparation ahead of the Dakar Rally.
Each vehicle covers around 3,000 km across mixed terrain including highways, mountain passes, gravel roads, and deep sand section, with temperatures ranging from 0°C to around 40°C. The focus is on drivetrain durability, suspension performance, cooling capacity, and tyre behavior under sustained load in desert conditions.
Nine Kalmar RS-7 units have been sold, with seven already delivered. Any findings from this Morocco test will be updated to both current and future vehicles where required. We have learned we need to upgrade our new driveshafts and aircon system on the Evo, but updates rather than a mandatory reliability update.
The first days have been intense as the heat is over the usual, but this means the test the cars and drivers are being exposed to is even more extreme than planned. We have learned that we need to offer an extreme hot weather package with extra fan cooling in the rear of all the models just like we will offer a fire extinguisher package.
The conditions were intense with high temperatures and the huge dunes in Merzouga, but back at camp we have found no major issues beside sand in the TC switch which made it harder to turn off. Three more days of testing remain in Morocco, with every kilometer reinforcing the KALMAR philosophy: cars developed not in isolation, but in the real world, where performance truly matters.
Above contents © 2026 KALMAR Automotive, reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee , @rexmcafee
