Remember the Turbo Study from Goodwood? That was Singer’s first go at a forced induction 911, specifically a 930 Turbo from 1975. This, clearly, is not that. But the tuner’s latest restoration shows what’s possible if you take the lessons learnt from the Turbo Study and apply them to a cabriolet body. The result - as is typical of Singer - is a sympathetic reimagining of Porsche’s original handiwork, and marks the firm’s entry into the (lucrative) fully open-top market.
“The first Porsche, the Sport 356/1 known as “Number 1”, was a cabriolet, and high-performance, open-roof glamour has been part of the story ever since,” noted Rob Dickinson, Singer’s founder and Executive Chairman.
“I’ve long wanted to celebrate that part of Porsche heritage at Singer and doing so as part of our recently announced Turbo Study seems a perfect place to start. Our goal with the Turbo Study is to distill the awesome thrill of Porsche’s first ‘supercar’ while reimagining its performance and refinement. We’re excited that owners can now choose to enjoy these traits with the roof down.”
Of course, the real star of the show - assuming you’re not especially partial to the whale tail-wearing “iconic” 964 body - is Singer’s 3.8-litre evolution of the Mezger air-cooled flat-six. With twin turbochargers, electric wastegates and bespoke air-to-water intercoolers mounted inside the intake plenums, the unit sounds no less special than when Singer introduced it at Goodwood. And obviously you’re going to have a ringside seat for the noise, not to mention the added performance that up to 510hp delivers to a 964 Cabriolet now wearing carbon fibre body panels.
In the case of the Cadiz Red car that kicks off a new range of possibilities for existing owners, the Turbo Study motor is mated to Singer’s six-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive. But all-wheel drive restorations are also possible if you prefer, as is a choice of suspension settings. Its latest customer has apparently opted for a ‘touring-focused’ chassis, but the tuner will merrily make your 964 as sporty as you like. Of course, it will charge you what it likes - but that’s all part of the exclusive Singer charm. Which has undeniably found its niche.
“Singer’s growth as a luxury brand continues,” said CEO, Mazen Fawaz. “Our new expanded facilities in California and the UK have enabled us to expand the team with world-class talent and respond to growing demand around the world. The team in the US is diligently focused on completing Classic Study restorations while, in the UK, our team is carefully executing each of the restorations enabled by the Dynamics and Lightweighting Study. The response to the Turbo Study from owners has been incredible and it’s very exciting to be able to extend our services to the cabriolet body style for the first time.”
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