Singer Vehicle Design: the Porsche 911. Reimagined.

J-C Etter

12 years ago

In southern California, a team of craftsmen restores Porsche 911s in the spirit of classic, late sixties models. A visit at Singer Vehicle Design.

I find myself in the greater north east suburbs of Los Angeles, in a non-descript industrial zone. At the address, there are indeed cars of various makes and conditions in front of the building, but not a single Porsche in sight, furtherless a sign that I am at the right address. After checking the GPS and the street number twice, I wander around the building to the wrong entrance where a guy directs me to the other side of the building. The door screeches as I open it, a man in shorts and t-shirt, iPhone glued to the ear, waves me to come in. Venice Beach is quite far away, but that is the first thought that crosses my mind as I wait at a polite distance for the phone call to end.

Singer does not owe its name to the venerable family who would have made a fortune in the sewing machine business. The name echoes the career of the founder, a british citizen going by the name of Rob Dickinson, in the music business. Guitarist and, yes, singer, but also automotive designer and Porsche fanatic. After a short stint at Lotus, Rob arrives in Los Angeles in 2003 and undertakes to restore a 911 as a personal project. The goal is not just any 911, but the ultimate incarnation of the 911, vintage late sixties. A major source of inspiration is the 1967 911R, an excessively limited series of less than two dozen cars which had their first racing success that same year in the 84 (no typo, that’s eighty-four) hours of the Nürburgring. The metallic eyelets in the seats and the filling cap in the center of the hood come straight from 911R heritage.

Rob uses his restored yellow 911 in Hollywood as a daily driver, and the car does attract attention from a flurry of producers, directors, lawyers, the kind of crowd that will offer to buy your car on the spot. Rob eventually grows tired of declining these offers and the idea to turn these demands into a business starts to take shape. The process, and the massive work that follows, will lead to the presentation at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance of the second car, in orange livery. Rob returns from the Monterey Peninsula with two customer orders.

The recipe is simple in principle, but refined and rich in detail. The customer delivers to “Singer Vehicle Design” a Porsche 964 in more or less any condition. The restoration – metamorphosis would be more apt as a term – specifications are chosen from a catalogue of 40 different options covering engine, transmission, chassis and, of course, interior and exterior livery.

For the non-specialist, the 964 had a relatively short production span between 1989 and 1994, but more than 62’000 were built, making it reasonably abundant by GT standards. The Carrera versions were powered by a 3.6L flat six (type M64) putting out 310 Nm of torque and 250 hp, and the manual versions were mated to a 5 ratio gearbox (type G50/10). The 964 was chosen over the 993 – the last air-cooled Porsche 911 – because of its better rear suspension design.

Upon receiving a donor 964 to restore, the Singer team strips the car down to the bare body, which is then sent to a body shop for a complete overhaul and the assembly of carbon front and rear fenders. The body is returned with the new, specific panels assembled and painted in the final color, as specified by the customer. The 4 cars shown here reflect four stages of the process: the bare body (beige car), the rebuilt body (blue car), the assembly (metallic grey car) and the finished work (dark grey car).

Returning from the body shop, the car goes through a careful assembly with the ingredients of the recipe developed by Rob and his team. Re-imagined the Singer way, the Porsche 964 takes a hybrid appearance. The esthetic cues are definitely of classic Porsche heritage, but the polyellipsoidal Hella headlights give a very modern expression to the front end. At the rear, under the hood, the 996 GT3 plenum, sublimely finished with a gold plated Porsche casting, crowns the flat 6. The unit has been bored up to 3.8L and its guts completely redesigned by the American subsidiary of Cosworth in Torrance, no less.

Starting from a 996 GT3 crankshaft, which magically fits into the 964 crankcase, pistons and conrods are specific — optimized for performance and reliability. Depending on the emissions standards at the car’s destination, the unit puts out between 270 and 360hp. Singer ventured to develop a 420hp version, but on top of being far less compliant in daily use, the engine price became prohibitive, even in the context of such an abundant transformation budget.

Please click on the thumbnails for larger images.

With a peak torque of 380 Nm, one could expect a vintage performance envelope, but factor in the drastic weight reduction and things start looking a lot spicier. Depending on the equipment configuration, the total weight falls as low as 2300 lbs (1043 kg), resulting in a tidy 2.9 kg/hp power-to-weight ratio. To put it in perspective, this is Ferrari 599 territory, not exactly an old school slouch. Under its cute and friendly demeanor (according to Rob, the car has huge appeal with female audiences), road performance must be very entertaining. Singer initially opted for the 6 gear transmission of the 993, but then reverted to the 5 ratio unit of the 964 which is more attuned to the spirit of the car.

After a long discussion with Rob on the history and operations of “Singer Vehicle Design”, I return to the shop with complete freedom to photograph whatever I want, except one exhaust part which is still under development. The quality of the parts lined up on shelves is astounding. The most expensive are carefully wrapped in cartons, such as these gorgeous Ohlins dampers, specially calibrated for this configuration and whose beauty is only matched by their price tag. The refurbished Recaro seats are simply superb, same for all of the plated external parts awaiting assembly.

Further in the shop, car number 6 awaits me for some one-on-lens time. The stance of the car is unusual, mixing a graceful shape with muscular volumes, not unlike a 400m sprinter. The bespoke 17” rims, fitted with 225/45 rubber at the front and 265/40 at the rear, strike the right chord in this context. They are suitably chubby by modern standards, but the tires – a set of Michelin Pilot Sport – is resolutely contemporary.

Inside, the choice of materials is bewitching, from the knitted carpeting to the braided leather panels. The impression is probably as disconcerting as time travel: everything looks scrupulously vintage, yet better than new. Under the engine cover, the 3.8L flat six appears as a jewel in its quilted case. It is the kind of car you can spend a lot of time just looking at, soaking in the numerous technical details and the delicious ensemble they form.

Under the front cover, the fuel cell is also dressed in the same quilted red cloth. The head of the damper units, the strut bar, nothing is overdone or technically vulgar, everything is simple, simply beautiful. In an era where carbon fiber – whether fake or genuine, decorative or functional – is so ubiquitous, I did not spot a square inch of the material, while Singer makes such an extensive use of it for body panels. Number 7 gives me an opportunity to admire the wheel attachments, including the McPherson strut transplanted from the 1992 964 RS.

The set-up of the car has been refined with the help of Ohlins USA and the precious advice of two notorious 911 nuts, Richard Meaden and Chris Harris. Singer took a car for a proper chassis tuning session at the Infineon Raceway and on the notoriously bumpy roads of the Silicon Valley Peninsula. The settings are focused on road use and driveability, not ultimate track performance.

This Porsche 964 rebuilt by Singer Vehicle Design is painfully beautiful. The kind of beauty one struggles to takes the eyes off. A beauty which strikes at first glance but also runs deep. A beauty that will seduce your heart as much as it will seduce your soul. It has the honesty and perceived fragility of a classic car, to the point where I barely dare manipulate doors and covers myself. More than the sheer value of the car, it is the scale of the work which seems priceless.

The parts and blueprints which define the recipe of this restoration represent only half of the Singer Vehicle Design genius. The other half is in the craftsmanship. A small scale operation striving for excellence, relying on no less than 132 suppliers, all located in a 50 miles radius around Los Angeles. This ecosystem, specialized in the very unique needs of the Californian design studios, is accustomed to produce parts to the highest standards in very small quantities. The price list reflects this: count on a minimum of 350’000 US$, and up to 450’000 US$ if your appetite turns into gluttony. Add to this the donor Porsche 964, please. What does such a budget buy you ? Perfection.

Who is the customership ? Well-heeled amateurs, naturally. Porsche 911 amateurs also, of course. Some use their car as a daily driver, 365 days a year under climates which may not be the most hospitable. At the other extreme, one car sits in a collection and is never driven. The only common denominator is passion for the 911, to the edge of reason, or perhaps for a certain idea of the 911, blended with nostalgia. They are north American, but also European, Asia or Middle Eastern. Since 2009, Singer has only delivered 5 cars. The sixth, shown here in its dark grey livery, is heading to Indonesia. The seventh, in silver metallic, will join its owner in Taiwan. The eight, blue, is destined for Dubai. The ninth and the tenth are in the body shop process, the eleventh is patiently waiting for its turn.

The approach is not to be confused with an orthodox restoration. Singer makes liberal use of a poetic license in this quest for the essence of a classic 911, starting from a 20 year younger base and using with no qualms all the compatible parts in the 911 model series. Authenticity is does not reside in the bill of materials, but in the spirit of the work. Restored, reimagined, reborn. These three words printed on Rob Dickinson’s business card summarize to perfection this sumptuous homage to an automotive icon.