Driving Singer’s stunning Porsche 911 Turbo restomod – car pictures of the week
In the latest issue of evo, we sample Singer’s latest Porsche 911 restomod – a carbon-bodied tribute to the 930 Turbo
The Porsche 911 Turbo turns 50 this year, and to mark the occasion, Singer has produced just about the most glorious rendition of the icon imaginable. Its official name is the Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Classic Turbo, and we get to grips with it in the latest issue of evo. To read the full feature, pick up a copy of evo 325 in-store, or purchase one online via the evo shop.
The ingredients that make up the Classic Turbo are mouth watering. Taking the shell of a 964, Singer comprehensively restores, rebuilds and upgrades every component to the highest standard possible, while applying a bespoke carbonfibre body that refines the design of the original 930 Turbo from the mid-’70s.
The Classic Turbo’s broad shouldered stance is familiar, but in reworking details Singer has created a jewel-like 911 with all the presence you’d expect from one of its products. The interior is equally exquisite, the trim of our test car mimicking Porsche’s classic Pascha upholstery and featuring open-grained wood, Cognac leather and gorgeous classic-style switchgear.
The aesthetic makeover is backed up by a comprehensively reworked chassis and powertrain. An uprated 3.7-litre Mezger engine (with twin turbos, of course) delivers 503bhp and 442lb ft to the rear wheels, thanks in part to 992 Turbo S-derived Borg Warner turbochargers. Modern chassis tech like switchable traction control, ABS and stability control, as well as two-way adjustable R53 dampers, help harness all that power, and as our man Richard Meaden found out, the results are sublime.
‘The Singer is more guttural than the earliest Turbos – and much faster – but there are clear hints of the 964 and 993 (the first to feature twin turbos and all-wheel drive) in its delivery and demeanour. Overlay with the scope of a 997, the rear-drive balance of a GT2 and the throttle response of a 992 and you’ve got the picture. It’s a heady brew.’
To find out whether the Classic Turbo is worthy of its astonishing c£850,000 price tag (plus taxes and a donor car), pick up a copy of evo 325.