Singer Vehicle Design: SINGULAR

Singer Vehicle Design:

SINGULAR

EVERYTHING IS IMPORTANT: Success in our mission requires a unique approach. Every detail, no matter how small, must be considered and optimized. These three words are the constant mantra that guides our pursuit of perfection. – Singer Vehicle Design

You won’t find many companies in today’s marketplace pursuing a very personal – essentially singular – vision, and that’s especially true in the automotive industry. There are still Fords at Ford and a handful of Porsches at Porsche, but in both instances those offspring report to a Board of Directors – and those Boards are watching out for the shareholders. While investors are certainly worth cultivating, they are typically not composed of creative visionaries. Although Singer Vehicle Design, founded in 2009 by Rob Dickinson, has proven to be an outstanding business model, if there was a prospectus it would be interesting…to say the least. 

In a nutshell, Dickinson’s team acquires Porsche 964s to serve as donor vehicles for the eventual outcome, a Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer. A media-friendly tour of the company’s facility in Torrance, California generously included me and my son-in-law, Ethan Dietrich (both of us former Porsche owners – and lifetime Porsche enthusiasts), and the almost 2-hour overview was nothing short of amazing.

Our host was Seamus Taaffe, Singer’s brand ambassador. Seamus joined the company shortly after its 2009 founding, having spent the previous decade – or so – building Yamaha race bikes. While a racing platform is incredibly sophisticated, its construction is relatively simple. 

In contrast, the dismantling of an older Porsche is somewhat simple – while its rebuilding and reassembly is infinitely more complex. And exponentially more expensive. While your new Porsche 911 will typically cost between $150K and $300K, a Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer will require an outlay of seven figures, and will typically command that either from Singer, or from a third party such as Sotheby’s or Bring-a-Trailer.

I’ve not been through the Porsche plant in Stuttgart or, for that matter, any other relatively low volume factory on either side of the Atlantic. With that, the scope of Singer’s 115,000 square feet of Torrance facility was something else, with roughly 100 units in various stages of reassembly. Relative to a new ‘anything’ (just fill in the blank), a 911 built some 45 years ago constitutes a simple, straightforward construction, with an air-cooled, normally aspirated six, just two doors and a comparatively compact footprint.

Upon disassembly of the donor (offsite), the focus is on the condition of the 911’s unibody structure – and strengthening that structure. As Seamus noted, both welding and bonding (with chassis strengthening developed in consultation with Red Bull Advanced Technologies) are utilized in that reinforcement, resulting in an old structure performing much like a new one. All of this is done before reinstalling fenders, doors, rear deck and hood, or refitting a sunroof – if requested. And then, of course, the reassembled shell receives its repaint to the client’s preferences.  

Under that rear deck is what you’d assume to be a carefully rebuilt flat six, and – of course – it’s that, but so much more. From the Singer website: 

The engine in a 911 Carrera Coupe Reimagined by Singer draws on long experience with the 911 and learnings from the DLS program, where the company’s first four-valve cylinder head was born. This expertise allows Singer to continue exploring the performance potential of the Type 964’s iconic flat-six…through a continuous process of careful optimization and the development of a revised four-valve cylinder head. 

Singer have jointly developed the execution of this engine with Cosworth. 

It is the first engine restored for a Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer to feature variable valve timing, optimizing drivability at low speeds, and power at high revs. It is also the first naturally aspirated engine restored by Singer to use water-cooled cylinder heads combined with air-cooled cylinders, utilizing learnings from the DLS Turbo program.

This particular commission offers the owner/flogger 420 hp, along with a torque curve flatter than Nebraska. (Those wanting to swap for Subaru’s turbocharged flat four should, of course, shop elsewhere.)

The appointments included in this ‘reimagining’ are most often termed bespoke, derived from the Latin for ‘you can’t afford it’. Of the few almost finished restorations in the shop, Recaro seating was predominant, while the variety of coverings for those Recaros would have required almost all of Kevin Costner’s Dutton Ranch cattle. In short, the choices stretch almost as far as a tech bro’s bonus. 

Obviously, most of us will get no closer to a Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer than we will to an IPO. But that doesn’t diminish the admiration for the wondrous work, or an appreciation for the skillsets now being passed to a new generation of craftsmen. 

At the conclusion of our tour I asked Seamus if Dickinson likes motorcycles, thinking that a reimagined Triumph twin might be within my economic reach. Rob does like bikes…and I’m starting a GoFundMe page.