Singer Vehicle Design: PH Meets

The cars are an object of lust but what makes the guys at Singer tick? PH pays a visit to find out

As you'll have gathered, PH recently spent a few days knocking about California hanging out with various Porsche folk in an effort to get a picture of 911 culture in this car crazed part of the world.

Rob's personal customised '69 911 E was inspiration

Porsche owners in these parts have been modifying and hot rodding their 911s for decades but it's only recently that the trend has been picked up by the mainstream, a charge led by the immaculately prepared Porsches customised by Singer for their well-funded owners.

We know Singer of course. Chris Harris's video perfectly captured the atmosphere of perfectionism and geekery that pervades this otherwise nondescript industrial unit in northern LA and if you need to gen up on what goes into the car it's essential viewing.

Common path
Though the 911s they put their names to couldn't be more different the parallels between Singer's Rob Dickinson and Magnus Walker down the road in central LA share much in common. Of a similar age, both describe pivotal childhood exposure to 911s that has stuck with them through success in other fields, migration from Britain to LA and eventual investment of considerable time, money and effort into their passion for Porsches.

Original G-series based car before switch to 964

But as Walker courts Porsche's corporate approaches Rob at Singer has had a slightly different experience. Anecdotal evidence points to heartfelt enthusiasm for the beautifully modified 911s at a personal level among senior Porsche personnel, an opinion perhaps not shared by the trademark lawyers resulting in the approved 'Singer - Reimagined' nomenclature.

You'll recall Chris giggling at the battered state of Rob's Mac in his video and it's a neat metaphor for the state of organised chaos he seems to inhabit, constantly roaming the workshop, gladhanding the stream of visiting hacks like us, chatting with the team and generally acting the figurehead.

Future plans
Partner in crime Maz is a little more free to talk details, showing us around the new parts store that's currently being configured in an effort to meet growing demand for projects. "When Chris came here it was one car per year and just me, Rob and a couple of guys," he says. "We're in the process now of building up a stock of parts with the idea being we'll have six of everything in stock and it'll be down to five or six months to build a car."

Singer guys' private cars speak volumes of taste

Just walking round the parts store and hearing Maz detail the work that's gone into each component you begin to realise how that half-million dollar pricetag comes about. Indeed, it almost seems reasonable, Rob admitting that the margins on a completed project barely add up. Like many things at Singer, this prompts a shake of the head, a wry smile and a refreshing sense they're doing this as much for the love and hell of it as anything.

Sitting on a work bench beside the near-completed 'Gulf' car (projects are referred to by the place of ownership), Rob and Maz chat about a vaguely more cost conscious 'California' car that's currently in-build with KW rather than Ohlins suspension and a cheaper version of the bespoke $30,000 wiring loom in an effort to keep a lid on the final price. It's all relative though. And it doesn't take long for the chat to start going the other way.

The car 'in build' when Chris Harris visited

'Nutty stuff'
"I shouldn't really be telling you this," giggles Rob, Maz smirking as they describe plans for a super trick, super light weight car under consideration and explaining an earlier reference to titanium wheel hubs and other components for a forthcoming project. "It's going to be so over the top, properly nutty stuff. It'll be extreme but you'll be able to use it on the road." There's talk of an all-up weight of less than 1,000kg (around 200kg less than the standard car) and a seriously hopped up motor too. Anything else? "Um... it'll have air jacks." And then they look at each other and clam up.

Rob's interested in the 991 we've turned up in and paces around it with a critical and informed eye. He is, after all, a graduate of Coventry's car design degree course and worked at Lotus before leaving the business to do the rock'n'roll thing with Catherine Wheel. With his designer's head on what does he think of the echoes of Singer in the houndstooth cloth, muted colour palette, chrome decklid trimmings and Fuchs-style wheels of the 991 50 Years Edition revealed earlier in the year? If imitation and flattery come to mind he's too diplomatic to comment.

964 shells are stripped and prepped for conversion

As we make to leave and Rob and the team get back to the day job we get a glimpse of his serious side. The green 'Sweden' car we saw earlier outside the LA Auto Show is back from final shakedown before the customer arrives to pick it up and Rob scoots around it on a foot stool, studiously photographing every angle and spending full minutes scrutinising every last detail as everyone else stands around, chins cupped and nervously awaiting final approval. There's obsessive perfectionism and attention to detail here, for sure, but it's done with heart and soul too.

Half a million? Seems like a steal.

Images (grey 'Indonesia' car): Singer Vehicle Design