A WHALE TALE
Singer Founder and Executive Chairman, Rob Dickinson, introduces the Turbo Study.
Today, Singer is best understood as a philosophy, simply expressed as ‘A Relentless Pursuit of Excellence'. We only pursue a subject when we feel there is the opportunity to arrive at a definitive vision. We are uncompromising in our execution of that vision – there are no shortcuts. This philosophy has shaped the growth of Singer as a luxury brand since its founding in 2009.
Our latest chapter begins, as always, with an emotional connection.
My first ever ride in a Porsche 911, as an 11 year-old in 1976, left me dry-mouthed and speechless - it was a black 930 Turbo with red tartan seats. 45 years on from that life-changing moment I'm excited to present the results of our study that aims to capture the awesome thrill of Porsche's first ‘supercar' while reimagining its performance and refinement and collaborating with owners to take both to new heights. I believe it's a fitting tribute to a car that changed my life and many others.
The Turbo Study is our response to requests from owners for restoration services that incorporate turbocharging. This next generation of services from Singer represents a collaboration with those owners on our first road-going restorations to feature forced-induction.
The results enable highly capable grand touring, sports and everyday performance. Each owner is able to adjust the balance of luxury and sporting character as they prefer. If their objective is a car tailored for traveling in comfort across a continent to their favorite ski resort or their house in the sun, we can help them to achieve that. If they're looking for a car centered on sports driving and perhaps time at the track, the results of the Turbo Study are equally capable of this role.
The car in Wolf Blue presented here shows a Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer, specified by its owner using the results of the Turbo Study to pursue a focus on high-performance, luxury grand touring capabilities.
The car is powered by a 3.8L twin turbocharged, intercooled flat-six, developing over 500HP. This engine is a new evolution of the ‘Mezger' air-cooled flat-six found in the Type 964 car that forms the starting point for our services. Now in 3.8L form, the engine features twin turbochargers with electric wastegate. Bespoke air to water intercoolers are mounted inside the intake plenums. The ‘shark fin' on the rear
fender is reimagined as an intake and supplies cold air to the engine bay to optimize combustion and cooling performance. In response to owners' preferences, the study enables power outputs starting at 450HP and with over 500HP possible.
This engine is paired with a 6-speed manual transmission, rear-wheel-drive and touring-focused suspension, while braking is handled by a carbon-ceramic braking system, and tires are Michelin Pilot Sport.
The Turbo Study also underlines our expertise in advanced materials. The car features lightweight, carbon fiber bodywork presented in Wolf Blue. It incorporates additional width, compared with the Classic Study, to allow for a wider track. At the front of the car you can see the ‘short-hood', rather than the ‘long-hood' that featured in previous studies.
The front fascia of the car, including the splitter and louvred bumpers, is another part of the unique approach for this study. At the rear of the car, the changes include the functional shark fin intakes, and of course, the iconic whaletail rear spoiler.
We gave this spoiler a lot of thought because we wanted to retain the purity of the early whale-tail with its slim profile, as used on early 930 Turbo cars. By locating the intercoolers in the engine plenum, we've been able to achieve intercooled performance while also celebrating that early whale-tail. Constructing the wing from carbon fiber allows us to reimagine this iconic feature while maintaining a focus on reducing mass.
The interior of the car also represents a significant evolution for us, and is presented in Malibu Sand with Black Forest wood accents. New seat design and materials, like the wood you see in the images, are part of expanding the choice we can give to owners. We're also incorporating enough technology to be genuinely useful - such as inductive phone charging. So, both inside and outside the car ,there are many elements on which we have worked extremely hard.
Singer's automotive services now encompass both normally aspirated and turbocharged sports cars for the road.
The results of the Classic Study allow owners to pursue their personal vision for optimized, air-cooled 911 coupes and Targas.
The results of the Dynamics and Lightweighting Study allowed 75 owners to explore the ultra high-performance capabilities of their air-cooled 911s, incorporating technology born from the world of Formula 1.
The results of the Turbo Study extend Singer's services on behalf of owners into the world of turbocharging and celebrate the heritage of the 911's turbocharged DNA. Over the coming years, our definitive collection of iconic designs will continue to grow.
We've consistently shown all our new work here at this amazing location since our first visit back in 2013 and we're delighted to be back at The Quail in 2022.