Singer 911 offers vintage looks, modern appointments, exotic performance
Singer 911 -- Click above for high-res photo gallery
Singer Vehicle Design rolled out its first prototype, plainly named the "Singer 911," at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance last month. Based on an '80s-era long-wheelbase 911 donor vehicle, the company strips each chassis to its bare shell for "reinvention" into what Singer calls a "celebration of the golden air-cooled era of the world's most important sports car."
Incontestable is its vintage Porsche 911 look. However, the Singer 911 is far from antiquated. The complete reincarnation includes chassis stiffening, new active aerodynamics, and a lightweight integral backbone structure and roll cage to improve torsional rigidity. Most interestingly, nearly all of the steel body panels are replaced by full carbon fiber composite bodywork candy-coated in Singer's exclusive "Racing Orange" paint.
Under the rear decklid is an air-cooled 3.82-liter flat-six sporting six individual throttle bodies. With a GT3 crankshaft and titanium connecting rods, the powerplant spins eagerly to 8,000 RPM. The engine sends 425 horsepower and 340 lb-ft of torque to a proper Getrag G50 six-speed manual transmission. According to the engineering team, the 2,400-pound Singer 911 will sprint to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds. Top speed is in excess of 170 MPH.
Make the jump for more.
Gallery: 2010 Singer Porsche 911
Photos copyright ©2009 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.
Under the skin are Moton shock absorbers, Eibach coil-overs, and Smart Racing Products adjustable sway bars. The four-piston brakes are sourced from the race-bred Porsche 930. Completing the performance package, and appearing period-correct, are the custom Zuffenhaus forged aluminum three-piece "Fuchs" wheels.
Singer's attention to detail carries throughout the vehicle... with a decidedly modern touch. State-of-the-art Hella bi-xenon headlamps reside within the headlight buckets, while a special lightweight air-conditioning system keeps occupants cool (keen eyes will notice that even the 911's windshield wipers have been relocated to the optimal center-mounted "993" position). The audio system includes satellite radio, iPod, and Bluetooth connectivity. Navigation assistance is provided by a Garmin-sourced GPS.
The Singer 911 isn't for everyone, and its still-unannounced pricing will reflect that exclusivity. Touted by Singer as "the love child of a 1967 911S, a 1973 911 Carrera RS and a 1996 993 RS," the car is crafted for the passionate car enthusiast who is seeking a viscerally intense vehicle, surprising sophisticated, yet very reliable. It's an emotional thing. If the Singer 911 doesn't drop your jaw at first glance, it probably never will.
Singer has promised Autoblog a drive and full review before the end of the year, so stay tuned.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
peyay 8:02PM (9/24/2009)
this is hot...............first
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Jeff Banks 8:38PM (9/24/2009)
Hot is right. I bet it murders engine oil.
mugatu 8:46PM (9/24/2009)
Hot was the first word to my mind too. Nice.
elpepe 9:49PM (9/24/2009)
Hot.... with a 30 year old crash worthiness... They should have used a NEW porsche donor car....
meatbag 11:27PM (9/24/2009)
want... nao!
Tourian 11:13AM (9/25/2009)
Anybody wanna guess how much? I'll say $200,000. This would beat out the Z-tune from Nissan as they most expensive new/used car.
abbas350 8:02PM (9/24/2009)
my new dream car has arrived
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Dondonel 9:21AM (9/25/2009)
It's drop dead gorgeous. Best looking 911 I have ever seen. Best looking 911 engine bay too.
On the down side, it still uses the trailing arm rear suspension of the old 911s. I don't understand why they could not use the 993 suspension, especially when they mount the 993 engine anyway. Trailing arm rear plus rear engine mount plus gobs of power equals snap oversteer.
Tyler 8:03PM (9/24/2009)
Ha that's really cool!
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2004m3driver 8:03PM (9/24/2009)
They should have updated the brake lights to all red ones. I hate those yellow turn signals in the back from old cars.
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Shiftright 9:30PM (9/24/2009)
I prefer the orange turn signals myself, looks more Euro, but hey, different strokes...
RowFive 7:30AM (9/25/2009)
I have to agree with Shiftright on this one... I really like the amber turn signals. Years of the monochromatic red ones on American cars makes me appreciate the variety.
nighttime 8:14AM (9/25/2009)
I don't understand how red turn signals do not cause accidents, especially in states where it's legal to talk on a mobile/cellphone and drive.
I don't know, maybe it's just me, it would take some getting used to.
akboss302 8:36AM (9/25/2009)
Amber indicators make way more sense, why should your turning indicator look the same as your brake lights?
Rich 10:09AM (9/25/2009)
For other non-US residents, try imagining following a vehicle using a turn signal while dabbing at the brakes.
LEFT RIGHT LEFT BOTH WAYS RIGHT LEFT RIGHT.
Add to that the fact that many Merkins have mislearnt how to take a wider turn: they call it "swinging out". (It's exactly how Mickey Mouse would drive: anticipation, and whoosh!)
So yeah, it's unsafe. Damned unsafe.
Mike 10:18AM (9/25/2009)
First off I agree on the amber turn signals, much more usefull and better looking than the all red lights.
But for the non-Americans talking about them being unsafe, they're not. Us dumb "Mericans" don't have any issues understanding a consitently flashing red light on one side along with a flickering (if tapping the brakes) light on the other side means just that.
I'm not really sure on how to rebutt the "swinging out" comment because I don't know what the hell your talking about, I've never seen anyone screw up a wider turn and no one I know has a term called "swinging out", must be a regional thing.
montoym 1:20PM (9/25/2009)
quote from Mike:
- "But for the non-Americans talking about them being unsafe, they're not. Us dumb "Mericans" don't have any issues understanding a consitently flashing red light on one side along with a flickering (if tapping the brakes) light on the other side means just that." -
Agreed.
Not to mention that brake lights are brighter than the standard running lights or turn signals. They aren't terribly difficult to differentiate, even for us dumb 'Mericans.
That said, I still prefer the amber, but I have no problem with the all red.
Volvonaut 8:03PM (9/25/2009)
I never had or noticed a problem.
Michael 7:59AM (9/26/2009)
"But for the non-Americans talking about them being unsafe, they're not. Us dumb "Mericans" don't have any issues understanding a consitently flashing red light on one side along with a flickering (if tapping the brakes) light on the other side means just that."
And if you can't see both tail lights, you guess? Using the same color for two very different fuctions doesn't make much sense.
Biomech 8:06PM (9/24/2009)
Those rims. Ohhhhh.
WANT.
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