New Singer collab typifies 'Art of Travel'
Do we really need a car that looks like a Louis Vuitton handbag? Singer thinks we do...
If it doesn’t seem very long ago that Singer Vehicle Design was the hot new thing as far as high-end, Porsche-shaped hot rods went, then your hunch is correct: Rob Dickinson only formed his company in 2009. The first of those stunning Classic commissions was driven in the early 2010s, and the UK operation launched as recently as 2015. The company has come some way since then; now there’s a range of chronographs, Festival of Speed sculptures, and wild turbocharged machines very different from the purity of those original naturally aspirated builds. The commitment to Porsche emulation really knows no bounds…
Now Singer Vehicle Design has taken another step (or perhaps several) away from Californian car culture at its coolest and into the jet-set mainstream with this, a pair of reimaginations designed with Louis Vuitton (Monterey Car Week really is outdoing itself this year). There’s a Classic build, which must be one of the last given 300 of the 450 had been made in February 2024, and a Classic Turbo Cabriolet. Both, says Singer, ‘are enhanced with made-to-measure Louis Vuitton creations, transforming every journey into a true celebration of the art of living.’ Just when you thought you’d seen it all when it comes to Porsche restomods.
At its core, the Classic is a Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer as we’ve come to know them of late: carbon body, ceramic brakes, a 4.0-litre flat six and and a six-speed manual. From there, however, things get rather more… bougie, and it’s hardly like SVD’s cars were austere to begin with. This is Louis Vuitton’s ‘most contemporary expression of the Art of Travel, after all, so there’s a roof rack (wouldn’t be an adventurey 911 backdate without one of those) that can ‘accommodate a trunk, a surfboard or a pair of skis.’ And which still, it must be said, looks really cool. There’s just something about sports cars with stuff on the roof that works so well.
Probably you’ll already know Louis Vuitton’s colours from the frantic finger pointing of a significant other - but if you don’t, they’re saffron, cobalt blue and yellow. What works for LV most certainly works for an old 911, here also evoking the Bahama Yellow that many early Singer builds were seen in. It’s the interior, however, that really marks this classic out, with the leather so often seen on Louis Vuitton straps, labels and handles. The embossing naturally echoes the famous ‘malletage’ motif, and the vents, sun visors and headrest get the Monogram flower logo.
With hand-finished, rhodium-plated switchgear as well, it’s pretty special even by Singer standards. When even the filler caps (don’t forget about those!) feature the typography seen on Louis Vuitton watches, clearly a heck of a lot of time has been poured into this. And, credit where it's due, this does seem to offer up something just a bit different in the million-dollar-classic-Porsche space. Which has little room to manoeuvre in, you might have noticed.
The drop-top is where things get fully really bold, though, developed under the watchful eye of Nicolas Ghesquière, who is Louis Vuitton’s Artistic Director of Women’s Collections. Quite the title. And a man with a passion for automotive design, apparently. The aim here was to combine the nautical world with the car one; not necessarily themes you would think to meld, but apparently Ghesquière ‘frequently incorporates contrasting worlds into his collections’, so it makes sense to continue that into a car. Note the teak-inspired wooden deck, a colour scheme that wouldn’t look out of place on a superyacht, a roof like a hammock and even a wooden shell for the seats.
Ornate details abound, the kind of thing you can bet clients will want for their own 911. There’s the bespoke dashboard clock, complete with golden gauges and the Vuitton signature (plus accompanying watch), bespoke fitted luggage and the leather fastening straps. And it doesn’t stop there, of course, with Ghesquière having created a capsule of jewellery ‘in which every piece answers to the car.’ Somebody very much understood the assignment. There are also driving gloves, sunglasses, and whatever an LV Sneakerina - real name, honest - is as well.
After all that, talking specs seems a bit redundant, but a Singer Turbo cab (or whatever it’s meant to be called) sounds like a riot: six-speed manual, rear-drive and ceramic brakes. Hopefully Red Bull worked their magic here as well. Quite what will happen to both these commissions isn’t clear, though one thing’s for sure: plenty of people who didn’t know about Singer Vehicle Design up until this point are going to from now on, thanks to Louis Vuitton’s first co-branded item in its 172-year existence. Some achievement for Singer, whatever you think of the finished article. And you know where to look if your taste in the most famous restomod 911s is a little more restrained…
Norton did a cool bike / art collab last weekend - far more interesting. Porsche / ALD - far more interesting.
Disappointing!
If the former don t f*ck the goose, please.
If the latter shurley there re cooler collabs to be had, which won t tarnish the brand?
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They aren't my sort of thing but I get the collaboration; High end boutique for the rich and famous meets high end restomod company for the rich and famous.
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