The shape of Porsche’s seemingly immortal 911 is familiar to millions, its side profile is the stuff of legend and, despite its ubiquity, it remains a halo car for innumerable fanatics. But no matter how advanced the current models are, nor how brilliant they are to drive, there’s nothing quite like the old school, simple engineering brilliance and sheer personality of the air-cooled models that ended production in 1998 with the 993 generation.
The 993 is one of the all-time greats and most remain unsullied, as their maker intended. The model before it, however (known as the 964), is another matter – the least desirable, least collectible and least valuable iteration. That is until Singer Vehicle Design gets hold of one and comprehensively ‘re-imagines’ it. When a 964 emerges from Singer’s California workshops after more than 4,000 hours of loving artisan labour have been lavished upon it, quite simply it’s one of the world’s most desirable machines. ‘Born again’ hardly does it justice.
Singer is the brainchild of 54-year old Rob Dickinson, who used to be exactly that. Between 1990 and 2000 he was the singing, songwriting and guitar playing front man for Catherine Wheel, an alternative rock band that originated in the UK but found considerable success in America. Dickinson ended up relocating to LA in 2003 following the dissolution of the band and he’s still there now. He even still performs on stage but since 2009 has become better known for making motorhead dreams come true: turning classic automobiles into unique, breathtaking pieces of rolling art.
Allow your eyes to soak in the details of a Singer modified-911 and you’ll always find something new to fascinate over, from the quilted leather that surrounds its engine and lifts the visuals of its luggage compartment, to the incredibly beautiful engine componentry. Then there’s the deeply-dished alloy wheels and the low profile rubber that’s stretched around them, and paint that’s so deeply lustrous you’d swear you could sink your arm into it. Every single one is unique, made to its fastidious owner’s exacting wishes and each is testament to Dickinson’s relentless pursuit of perfection.
“From the age of five I was a car nut,” he recalls, “and my father introduced me to the 911 on a French Autoroute in August, 1970. We were on holiday in the South of France in our Volkswagen Beetle. I became obsessed with it and, as a five-year old, what piqued my interest in it was its ‘smiling face’ – the 911 has a big, happy face – and at the back of the car it looks almost angry, it has this almost cross-eyed appearance and it sounds angry at the back, too.”
“And, of course, I understood even then that it was something vaguely similar to the car I happened to be in at the time. They both had their engines in the back. I knew my father loved it but my family couldn’t afford it – everything was just a sensory overload for a five-year old.”
He says rock n’ roll allowed him “to scratch my itch” and he bought his first 911 in 1996, going on to amass a small collection while he was still in the UK. Eventually he sold them all and put the money into creating what he affectionately refers to as “the Brown Bomber” – the ultimate 911 as he saw it then, and he still owns it. “That car,” he says, “was my daily driver in Hollywood when I was making records and I was regularly stopped by all sorts of entertainers, lawyers, actors and directors who wanted to buy it. Eventually I stopped telling them they couldn’t have it and started telling them that I could build them a similar one.” And so it was that Singer Vehicle Design was born.
The company takes 964s supplied by – or for – paying customers, before stripping each one down and rebuilding it as ‘a Singer modified car’ in a process during which everything Dickinson thinks could, or should be made better, is, without compromise. “Everything is Important” is Singer’s mantra and it shows, loud and clear. Visually they drip with the retro appeal of racing 911s from the 1960s and 70s but it’s the bits you can’t see that make Singers such sublime driving machines.
The engines (three options are available) are completely disassembled then meticulously blueprinted, balanced and hand-built using new or state of the art components. Transmissions are entirely rebuilt to exacting tolerances, resulting in an oiled ‘rifle bolt’ tactility that transforms the shift quality, while the steering and brakes are uprated to better suit the car’s elevated performance potential. Nothing is overlooked. Nothing.
See one, hear one, touch one, drive one – only then can you fully understand Dickinson’s vision and dogged determination to make what he and his team consider to be the perfect automobile. From zero to hero in just 11 years, Singer Vehicle Design looks like it’s here to stay and the motoring world is a better place for it.
