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At the request of a long-term client, Singer has looked to a golden era of Porsche rallying in the 1980s, and to automotive heroes including the 911 SC/RS and 959, to reimagine his air-cooled 911s as World Rally Championship-inspired, all-terrain competition machines.
Singer's latest services will enable their clients to go off-road racing, with a Porsche 911 modified by Singer for all-terrain use.
The All-terrain Competition Study has been undertaken by Singer, in partnership with renowned 911 rally specialist Richard Tuthill, in response to the request from their client for modifications to his air-cooled Porsche 911 that would enable the car to compete in off-road racing and to demonstrate extensive all-terrain exploration capabilities. To highlight the broad repertoire of the ACS, the client has commissioned two machines, one - in Singer's iconic Parallax White - focused on high-speed desert rallying and a second - in Corsica Red - configured for high-speed, high-grip tarmac events and disciplines.
Porsche 911s prepared by UK-based off-road competition specialist Richard Tuthill have dominated rally events for decades, with recent victory in the 2019 East African Safari Classic marking a remarkable 4th win in the grueling 5000km event across Kenya and Tanzania. These successes sit alongside deep expertise from the world of WRC competition and events such as the Paris-Dakar.
As with all Singer's restoration services for owners of the Porsche 911, the car takes the Type 964 generation of air-cooled cars as its starting point. At the heart of the machine is an evolution of the "Mezger" air-cooled flat-six, here in 3.6L form, with twin symmetrical turbochargers and fly-by-wire individual throttle bodies. The performance characteristics of the engine can be tuned depending on the demands of competition and the owner.
A bespoke carbon fiber body is optimized to allow easy access to mechanical components at service stops and to enable effective breathing and cooling for the powertrain. The use of carbon fiber allows Singer to reduce overall mass and, for this car, to offset the extra weight of the roll-cage.
The All-terrain Competition Study draws on Richard Tuthill's extensive knowledge of the demands of both on and off-road racing. The bespoke suspension and damping, together with AWD configuration is designed to enable effective deployment of the car's power off-road. The strength designed into the car's structure and components is a response to the forces encountered during high-speed, off-road endurance events and pathfinding.
Inside, the All-terrain Competition Study reflects the demands of off-road racing. FIA specification seats and harnesses sit within a full roll cage. The car is equipped with a race GPS navigation system while both driver and navigator have access to in-seat rehydration systems.
Singer's restoration services encompass both sports cars for the road and now off-road motorsport competition. As always, the results are guided by the Singer philosophy - a Relentless Pursuit of Excellence.
Wider Availability, Costs and Assembly Details
The commissioning owner has agreed that the results of the All-terrain Competition Study will be available to others who wish to equip their cars with this off-road capability.
As always, each car is approached as a bespoke restoration and Singer's special wishes personalization approach is available. The price for the restoration services based upon the results of the All-terrain Competition Study will be dependent on the specification chosen by the owner.
The ACS restoration has been undertaken as a collaboration between the two companies. Singer's Design Office in California has led a joint engineering team with assembly undertaken in the UK at the Tuthill facility in Oxfordshire. Future cars will all be modified at Tuthill's facilities. Support packages for racing and maintenance will be available.
Modification services developed for the Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer - All-terrain Competition Study include:
Off-road competition capability, conceived with events such as the Baja 1000 and Dakar Rally in mind, but suitable for a range of surfaces
Dramatically increased ride height, suspension travel and overall strength
Carbon fiber body panels suited to quick replacement and easy underbody access
Permanent AWD
A twin-turbocharged, 3.6L, air-cooled flat-six with power starting at 450hp.
Sequential racing transmission with front, centre and rear limited-slip differentials.
Technical Specifications
1990 Type 964 Porsche 911
Core strengthening to monocoque for heavy duty off-road use, carbon fiber body panels and off-road race modifications including:
Suspension, wheels and brakes
Specialised long-travel suspension with twin, 5-way adjustable dampers per corner (8 dampers total).
Forged aluminium 8x16" wheels with BF Goodrich All-Terrain tyres.
4-piston, monobloc steel disc brakes with hydraulic handbrake.
Water-to-air intercoolers, with individual-bank charge coolers housed within the plenum and cooled by clamshell-mounted radiator.
Tuned for the demands of each event, power starts at 450hp and 420lb ft torque
5-speed sequential dog-box enabling flat-shifting. Manual and paddle-shift capable.
Permanent AWD.
Front, centre and rear, mechanical, plated limited-slip differentials.
Additional Specialised Equipment:
Long-range fuel tank.
2 x full-size spare race wheels and tyres in front trunk area and rear storage area.
Full FIA specification roll cage.
Bespoke competition seats with FIA certification
Rehydration system for driver and navigator
State-of-the-art GPS race navigation system.
About Singer Group, Inc.
With headquarters in Los Angeles, Calif., the Singer Group was formed a decade ago to pursue the creative possibilities within the vibrant world of iconic automobiles. Air-cooled Porsche 911s, restored in a bespoke manner by Singer for their owners, have been presented with the world's finest collectors' cars at events including The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering and Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Singer Vehicle Design (Singer) restores and reimagines 1989 to 1994 Porsche 911s, based on the 964 chassis for its clients. Singer does not manufacture or sell automobiles. Singer's Global Partner Network represents the brand across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Singer is not sponsored, associated, approved, endorsed nor, in any way, affiliated with Porsche Cars North America, Inc., or Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche, AG. The Porsche® name and crest and 911® are trademarks of Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche AG, and any other products mentioned are the trademarks of their respective holders. Any mention of trademarked names or other marks is for purpose of reference only.
The product of Singer's painstaking effort is a Porsche 911 restored and reimagined by Singer. Out of respect for Porsche, and to respect Porsche's trademark rights, this incredible machine should never under any circumstances be referred to or described as a "Singer," "Singer 911," "Singer Porsche 911" or a "Porsche Singer 911," or in any other manner that suggests that it is anything but a Porsche 911.
The fanfare surrounding Singer Design's All-terrain Competition Study revealed earlier this year was inescapable, but if you look at the company's website and Facebook page now, you'll see no trace of it. The car has reportedly been pulled due to Porsche's objections, likely in reference to its heavy "Porsche" branding.
According to Carscoops, Porsche's legal department asked Singer to remove the car from its promotional outlets until the issue is resolved. "We are glad to have a growing community of Porsche enthusiasts. They help us to ensure that so many Porsche cars originally built decades ago remain on the road and are still being enjoyed," Porsche told Carscoops. "At the same time, we have a responsibility to our customers to ensure that Porsche products – designed and engineered by us – can be clearly and easily identified."
In some images released by Singer, the ACS featured the word "Porsche" written across its rear in either the traditional wide Porsche font or something close to it. One of the cars had the word "Porsche" molded into the door sill. Porsche believes that this may lead some people to confuse the Singer with an actual Porsche product, it seems.
"[Porsche products] can range from an individual component or piece of clothing using our name through to whole cars. We do this by allowing only products created or directly licensed by us to carry the Porsche name," the statement to Carscoops continued.
While Singer's cars ostensibly look like Porsches and feature heavily styling and graphic elements found on Porsches, they are not actual Porsches. However, past Singer designs like the lightweight DLS have featured the word "Porsche" prominently, and they've asked to be described as "Porsches reimagined by Singer" as they were essentially resto-modded vehicles. This is different than, say, RUF, who qualifies as an OEM in Germany and issues their own VINs.
It's not clear what made the ACS a different story. Perhaps it was so drastically different it was no longer considered a resto-mod. Depending on how this latest development plays out, it may affect how Porsche branding appears on future cars made by Singer and companies like it.
01-05-2021, 02:08 PM
