Ban the backdating! Tell Me I'm Wrong
Should we be chopping up nice old Porsches to make them look like (possibly nicer) older Porsches?
Hot-rodded Porsches can still be tasteful
The arguments for are easy enough to understand of course and pretty much impossible to dispute, especially when you've got one of Singer'screations before you. I have to confess, given a six-figure budget and an old 964 I'd be on the phone to Rob, Maz and the guys and telling them to go mad with the angle grinder and carbon fibre additions.
Preservation order
And that huge interchangeability of parts - original and aftermarket - across the generations is what makes the 911 such a unique template for the imagination of all fans, be they dreadlocked fashion entrepreneurs from downtown LA or clean cut investors eyeing up the next collectable derivative.
Customising, updating, backdating - they're all part of the Porsche story too. When I put it to Harris he just said it's about making old cars drive better and more usable. And it's hard to argue.
Indeed, who wouldn't want a car like this?
We all crave the S/Ts, the Rs, the RSes and their lookalikes. But what happens when we turn around and find there are suddenly no nice, original SCs, 3.2 Carreras or 964s around?
Original is best?
It's not just Porsches of course. How many more 'Lotus' Cortinas are there now than there once were, likewise Escort Mexicos. And how long before all the K-Series Elises go pop and transplanted Honda or Duratecs make up the majority? Is there such a thing as an original RX-7 or R32 Skyline? An LS-engined TVR sounds like a giggle but shouldn't someone be devoting themselves to keeping one alive with a Speed Six engine still in place?
The point at which Dan's argument looks shaky
Indeed, it was experience of an LS-engined TVR that got me browsing GM's Chevy crate enginescatalogue. And it's huge. Whether you want a modern supercharged LS9 or a retro carbfed 350 small block GM will sell you it off the shelf, no questions asked. There's even a Camaro body in white you can buy - part #19243374 if you're interested. Ford, meanwhile, has also introduced 60s era Mustang bodyshells along similar lines. Want to build your own vision of your ultimate resto-mod Mustang? Fill your boots, and no need to carve up an old one to do so. See also Japan, where you can buy a GT86 with unpaintedbumpers and steelies, ready to hand over to the tuner of your choosing.
Given a G-series shell (and cash) and this'd do
It would require a fundamental change of mentality at Porsche of course. The idea that any Tom, Dick or Harry could order a bunch of factory bits and build an 'RS' is enough to have the lawyers trembling in their double-breasted suits. Thing is, folk are doing it anyway. At the detriment of the pool of original cars for those who want to preserve them the way they were. And I think the Porsche brand and 911 legacy is strong enough to accommodate support for the custom scene too.
Make the bits expensive enough that building a Singer-like car would require Singer-like expertise and money. G-series or 964 bodies in white, G50 gearboxes, Mezger-based engines in a variety of capacities and tunings with the whole vast range of aftermarket Porsche tuning parts and expertise to hang it all together. Just imagine the possibilities! Sure, there are probably a heap of legislative and other regulations I've not fully thought through or considered but I'm already lost in a mental spending spree in an online Porsche catalogue the equivalent of GM's or Ford's.
That way when funds allow I can have my (imagined) original SC or 964 Carrera 2 AND my personal vision of a resto-mod 911 while keeping a clean conscience and letting the collectors who want to spend the millions on the originals as investments do just that. After all, those who obsess over matching numbers and a factory history will always pay a premium for the dwindling supply of 'real' cars. Let them. Those of us who want an ultimate 911 for driving and enjoying can have that too, Porsche gets a cut of the action and it's down to the people like Singer, Autofarm and the rest to actually build them.
Literally, everyone's a winner.
Suspect its an attitude thing.
I'd love to build me one of these: https://www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/6069695...
...just like the lucky (and utterly nice) gent who had one at a PH goodwood track day last year
Any back date done well is ok by me and if it means another old Porsche is saved then that's great. The great thing is that this "scene" (which I am relatively new to) is incredibly varied and well supported in the UK now with a host of really good places specialising in the older cars across the country. Parts availability is very good indeed.
There is also a very good and lively forum (DDK-Online). Lots of fun to be had with old Porsches whichever way you like 'em.
One is giving life to shonky old 911s that would have likely been run into the ground otherwise.
And the other is that it makes a nice standard 911 SC, 3.2 Carrera or 964 look like a lovely thing. There's plenty RS reps that look a little too well presented and miss the point I think.
I think some old cars should be protected, just like art or buildings.
That said, I would see nothing wrong if "replicas" (or whatever you would call a Singer/Eagle you name it) would be built ex-novo, without destroying a donor car.
For every person like me who wants a classic with modern running gear there is a purist who demands total originality.
And we aren't buggering about with the rare models but taking the low end coat hanger salesmen versions and having them made into something better.
Restomods use the cheapest and most abundant of a model, the one that the least number of people desire to own. If demand reached the point that supply shrunk dramatically then core prices would rise and the restomodding would stop.
Good restomods add value to a marque.
If you want to modify, forward or back date, then it's up to you. There are many early impact bumper cars that had been forward dated to 964 and are now lovingly being put back to OE spec rather than the further step to an early car.
I'd much rather see a 911 of any type being driven hard and used than worrying to much about what someone else thinks of it's originality.
Backdates, forward dates, kits, and even the odd original car actually being used. Welcome to DDK
That said, I can sympathise with the author's feeling about the rebuild/reimagine scene in that I'm buying a gutted Chimaera bodyshell with crash damage and the all-important registration paperwork for the forthcoming Speed Eight speedster build, rather than butchering a fair-condition example that could be reasonably returned its original state even if current economics would speak against doing so.
I'm doing my bit for re-use and upcycling, me
You're wrong, if on the basis of your own admission, if nothing else.
I think some old cars should be protected, just like art or buildings.
It's not like we're talking about some obscure 60s Ferrari either.
If you watch Chris Harris's interview with the people at Singer and see the level of detailed engineering that goes into it, it's mind-boggling. And, as they point out, there are no old parts in their cars.
Maybe also, part of the draw is that new cars are getting bigger and dominated by technology that offers features that inevitably make the cars more complex — e.g. three settings for the steering; exhaust fakery — but don't add to the intimate human experience.
Apple has made fortunes by understanding that people don't want unnecessary complexity.
An old, small car with modern reliability, but still an analogue experience is very appealing in this day and age.
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