Background
Perhaps no company has celebrated the heritage of the air-cooled 911 with such obsessive attention to detail as California-based Singer Vehicle Design. Founded in Los Angeles in 2009, Singer has become globally renowned for bespoke restorations of Porsche 911 sports cars—each carried out on behalf of the car’s owner. Starting with a 964-generation car, the company painstakingly “reimagines” each example to create the equivalent of a “greatest hits” album of Porsche’s most iconic model.
The customer decides…
Singer clients can have their car restored with rear or all-wheel drive, and 3.6-, 3.8-, or 4.0-liter hand-built engines. Their car is disassembled, leaving the original chassis, which is cleaned, prepared, and strengthened before being fitted with carbon-fiber body panels, enabling significant weight reduction. From there, the sky is the limit for personalization.
Each 911 reimagined by Singer is a bespoke creation tailored to the tastes of each specific owner, and thus no two of the company’s fiercely personal commissions are the same. The company’s quality, engineering, and attention to detail have made their restorations nothing short of legendary. Many notable Porsche collectors, racecar drivers, and Hollywood celebrities count themselves among Singer’s customers, and their fervent proselytizing has drummed up a wait list that stretches several years into the future.
Highlights
- The “San Juan Commission,” completed for the consignor and delivered in October 2023
- A sublime opportunity to acquire a Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer with only 25 miles driven since restoration at time of cataloguing
- Stunning color combination of Grand Prix White over hand-trimmed, black-and-lime-green interior featuring visible carbon fiber accents
- Exceptional bespoke specification includes seam-welded chassis upgrade, hand-built 4.0-liter engine, six-speed transmission, titanium exhaust system, “Mulholland” rear wing, and adjustable Öhlins sport suspension
- One-off example of Singer’s lauded Classic Study services, which illustrates the height of style, performance, and quality achieved when “everything is important”
San Juan Commission
Dubbed The “San Juan Commission,” this Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer boasts a stunning and exceptionally well-considered specification. Just like the idyllic, colorful capital of Puerto Rico for which it is named, Singer’s San Juan Commission presents an intoxicating blend of familiar Porsche 911 heritage and unexpected, exotic character.
The driver’s view of the road? Familiar, if perhaps more finely framed from within the Singer’s sumptuously tailored cabin. Rocketing to triple-digit speeds nearly a full second faster than a 959? Shockingly exotic, although surely anything but unexpected for a Singer customer: someone who demands the best, and wishes to explore the heights of style, performance, and quality achieved when, as Singer puts it, “everything is important.” Delivered new to the consignor in October 2023, the San Juan Commission represents the stellar results of Singer’s Classic Study restoration services, orders for which the company capped at 450 examples in June 2022.
Beneath the San Juan Commission’s Grand Prix White and Singer Racing Green color scheme (itself a clever homage to Porsche’s legendary 2.7 Carrera RS) is a whole host of impressive chassis upgrades demanded by the consignor’s exacting taste. Most notably, the car’s original tub has been completely seam-welded and fitted with integrated cabin bracing for extreme rigidity.
Power plant
At the car’s heart lies Singer’s signature engine offering: their hand-built, 4.0-liter flat six-cylinder engine which produces 390 horsepower and 315 pound-feet of torque. Executed for Singer by the noted Porsche specialists at Ed Pink Racing Engines, this remarkable powerplant retains the 964-generation case, while utilizing bespoke pistons, cylinders and cylinder heads, crankshaft, camshafts, connecting rods, oil pump, throttle bodies, and intake systems. So equipped, the car reaches 60 mph from a standstill in less than 3.3 seconds and 100 mph in just 8.2 seconds. The consignor specified a lightweight titanium exhaust system ($17,500) and a bespoke set of SR Green velocity stacks ($15,000), ensuring that this formidable engine is heard long before, and after, it is seen. A downforce-generating “Mulholland” rear wing is fixed directly to the engine decklid with lightweight mounts.
Better yet, the San Juan Commission retains the most engaging powertrain configuration, sending power to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. Thanks to the fitment of the optional high-performance brake package (with bespoke Viper Green-painted calipers), this reimagined 911 can decelerate just as quickly as it accelerates.
Handcrafted cockpit
Inside, a pair of Recaro sport seats are trimmed by Singer’s team of master upholsterers with their own rendition of Porsche’s motorsports-derived “lollipop” pattern executed in a polychrome gradient of black, Viper Green, and Singer Racing Green leathers complete with contrasting Alcantara suedes and lime green stitching. This outstanding attention to detail extends through the cabin to the carbon fiber dashboard trim panel and black Alcantara lightweight door cards.
The transmission tunnel and interior doorsills are finished in visual Carbon fiber with Grand Prix White accents, while especially keen eyes will note the anodized Malibu-style gearshift knob and classic-style gauge suite bearing Grand Prix White dials anointed with black markers and Viper Green needles—a bespoke touch which harkens back to the instrumentation found in 911s of the mid-1960s. Additionally, this incredible Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer features a modern air conditioning system, manual windows, and an adjustable “track” Öhlins suspension system designed to Singer’s exclusive specifications.
Very few cars reimagined by Singer have become available in the secondary market since the company’s inception. The San Juan Commission presents an especially unrepeatable opportunity to skip Singer’s multi-year long waitlist and be driving a freshly restored example of the car upon which the company built their tremendous reputation, in a beautifully considered specification.
Now available
Go HERE for more information.
All content © 2024 RM Sotheby’s