Singer’s Latest Is The Most Advanced Air-Cooled 911 Yet

Singer and its clients are apparently no longer content with simply sprucing up old Porsches, as comprehensive as the restomod process may be. Now the California specialists have unveiled an altogether more advanced take on the classic German sports car, and the result is billed as “the most advanced air-cooled Porsche 911 in the world.”

Called the Dynamics and Lightweighting Study (DLS), the project stems from a partnership between Singer Vehicle Design and Williams Advanced Engineering, the client division of the Formula One racing team. It packs a 4.0-liter flat six with four titanium valves per cylinder, a unique lubrication system, F1-inspired throttle, and various magnesium internal components. The result is 500 horsepower delivered at a screaming 9,000 rpm. That’s the same redline, output, and displacement as a modern GT3 RS, but still air-cooled.

The bodywork has also been comprehensively re-engineered using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) processors and fabricated out of carbon fiber. Front axle lift is eliminated through a new front splitter and optimized air vents, a roof channel and spoiler direct air over the signature duck-tail rear wing, and engine cooling is enhanced through ram-air intakes in the side windows. And the whole thing is both lighter and stiffer than commissioning customer Scott Blattner’s 1990 964 on which it’s based.

The show car also includes ABS and ESC from Bosch, a six-speed magnesium-cased gearbox from Hewland, carbon-ceramic brakes from Brembo, 18-inch forged mags by BBS, Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires by Michelin, carbon-fiber bucket seats from Recaro, and a carbon steering wheel from Momo. And of course the interior’s been completely refitted to Singer standards, with an exposed gear-shift linkage, drilled carbon/titanium pedals, and a floating carbon-fiber instrument panel.

It’s an impressive undertaking, and we’re afraid to ask how much it must have cost to build. But it won’t be the only one on display at Goodwood where it’s just been revealed. While one takes on the hillclimb, another will be displayed in stasis along with six more 911s “reimagined by Singer” for clients in the UK.