Singer's rally Porsche 911 evokes memories of the legendary 959

Wednesday, 6 January 2021

At the request of a long-term client, Singer has looked to a golden era of Porsche rallying in the 1980s to reimagine his air-cooled 911 as World Rally Championship-inspired, all-terrain competition machine.

Some people are lucky enough to have dream jobs, and we reckon the staff at California-based Porsche 911-specialist (well, 964-specialist to be specific) Singer Vehicle Design are some of them, given that this is their latest creation.

At the request of “a long-time client” the company has looked to a golden era of Porsche rallying in the 1980s and automotive legends like the 911 SC/RS and the mighty 959 to “reimagine” the client’s air-cooled 911s as rally-inspired, all-terrain competition machines.

Singer says the “All-terrain Competition Study” was undertaken with the assistance of renowned UK-based 911 rally specialist Richard Tuthill, in response to the request from said client for modifications to his air-cooled Porsche 911s that would enable the cars to compete in off-road racing and to “demonstrate extensive all-terrain exploration capabilities.”

Singer’s ‘All-terrain Competition Study’ is the result of a client commissioning a pair of rally 911s. Yes – a pair.

Just to make sure they covered every base the client (who clearly has ‘enough’ money) commissioned a matching pair – a white one focused on high-speed desert rallying and a red one configured for high-speed, high-grip tarmac events. As you do.

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Singer says the All-terrain Concept Study is suitable for ‘a range of surfaces’, including air, apparently.

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Rally-inspired 911’s are nothing new, but we reckon this is one of the best.

Based on a 1990 964, Singer says the All-terrain Competition Study was conceived with events such as the Baja 1000 and Dakar Rally in mind, but is “suitable for a range of surfaces.”

The 911 has a flat underbody and serious ground clearance, but it probably doesn’t really need it because it doesn’t seem to spend much time on the ground...

The company “dramatically increased” the ride height, suspension travel and overall strength, while carbon fibre body panels suited to quick replacement and easy underbody access were used.

The concept packs a twin-turbocharged, 3.6-litre, air-cooled flat-six with power “starting at 335kW”, permanent AWD and a five-speed sequential racing transmission with front, centre and rear limited-slip differentials.

Specialised long-travel suspension with twin, 5-way adjustable dampers per corner is fitted, with forged aluminium 8x16-inch wheels and BF Goodrich All-Terrain tyres. Stopping is handled by 4-piston monobloc steel disc brakes with a hydraulic handbrake.

Of course, all the proper competition stuff like a long-range fuel tank, two full-size spare race wheels and tyres, a full FIA-spec roll cage, bespoke competition seats with FIA certification, a rehydration system for driver and navigator and a state-of-the-art GPS race navigation system are also fitted.

“So much of what we’ve done for the last decade has been inspired by Porsche’s competition success and the All-terrain Competition Study provides us the opportunity to showcase that idea literally and vividly,” said Rob Dickinson, founder and executive chairman of the Singer Group.

“We at Singer are motorsport nerds in our hearts and demonstrating our understanding of the discipline required our off-road vision to display deeply legitimate competition credentials from the structural engineering, to the bodywork ethos, to the mechanical package.”

Dickinson went on to say that the company took particular inspiration from the iconic Rothmans-sponsored 911 SC/RSs and 959s that conquered events like the Qatar International Rally and Paris-Dakar in the mid-‘80s.

At the request of the client, Dickinson says Singer has “reimagined these all-terrain 911’s in their honour while utilising fresh perspectives and state-of-the-art know-how.”

That basically means it looks cool and is really, really fast.

Wish you could buy one? Well you’re in luck because, rather awesomely, the commissioning owner has agreed that the results of the All-terrain Competition Study will be “available to others who wish to equip their cars with this off-road capability.”

The price is, of course, “dependent on the specification chosen by the owner”, but it won’t be cheap…

While the All-terrain Competition Study was undertaken as a collaboration between Singer and Tuthill, with assembly undertaken in the UK at the Tuthill facility in Oxfordshire, future cars will all be modified at Tuthill’s facilities in the UK, while support packages for racing and maintenance will be available.