Chris Harris feature article on Porsche 911 by Singer Design
Old, new, heartbreakingly expensive, and wonderful...
(2 May 2013)
The trade of updating and improving motorcars is nearly as old as the horseless carriage itself. Given that, it requires a profoundly impressive take on the craft for a so-called “tuner car” to gain the collective attention of the industry.
But back in 2009, it happened: A chap called Rob played around with an old Porsche 911 and showed his work to a few people. Within weeks it was a legend, one that swelled and gathered momentum for three years, during which time few people actually drove it. But then, few people actually drove a Vector, right? Lack of seat time doesn’t preclude legendary status.
Rob Dickinson’s reimagining of the classic 911 shape is, to these addled eyes, one of the great modern styling exercises, one that owes as much to the art of hot-rodding as anything else. Everything has been pulled and distended so cleverly that the result is a steroidal interpretation of Butzi’s masterpiece, not just some misguided homage.
The process to reach this point was laborious. Rob is a rank perfectionist. He styled clay for a year. What began as a fun exercise quickly proved to be the kernel of a potential business. It then turned into something a children’s author would call a quest, just without the requisite dwarf. The Singer-modified 911 contains a level of detail and obsession that I have only seen matched by the Pagani Huayra.
The car’s base is a 964-chassis (1989–1994) 911 shell, dipped and chemically treated. Part of the front crash structure is removed and an oil cooler beautifully integrated into the chin, allowing for the prettier “long” hood worn by pre-1974 911s. A carbon-fiber roof is bonded in, and the rear fenders are replaced with wider carbon panels. When you see the body in white sitting in Singer’s workshop, the quality of finish is staggering... (continued)