With the world heading further into economic disaster and with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel with – if BBC documentaries are to be believed – the Chinese economic bubble likely to burst at some point in the not too distant future & splatter us all in half finished cars & thus burying us in our own doom, it makes you wonder, what would you spend your last few thousand on before it gets swallowed up by the banks?
Well how about a classic car design that isn’t exactly a classic car? No, I don’t mean a Nissan Figaro, with it’s pseudo-vintage shell sitting on a Micra platform, I’m looking at a Singer Vehicle Design ‘re-imagination’ of a classic design.
Singer Vehicle Design were founded in 2009 by Rob Dickinson and are based in Los Angeles, California. Singer say they take a customer’s vehicle & carry out a typical restoration along with cutting edge modifications that will update the car’s performance and – crucially – it’s ‘modern day useability’.
Sounds good doesn’t it. The iconic Porsche 911 was the kickstart for all this a couple of years back. Now, SVD can proudly boast Cosworth as their exclusive engine suppliers with Aria Group providing composite technology along with body prep’ prior to applying a top end paintjob.
Quite rightly, seeing as the world hasn’t ended (quite) yet and you still have a mortgage to pay, alarm bells might be ringing about the potential cost of something like this being done to your beloved classic car. But hey, surely cost is just a minor secondary concern to the classic vehicle owner now that you’ve got the bug and can’t let your beloved vehicle go as you fight the combined tide of age and rust like a Hammerite wielding King Canute?
So let’s look at what you might get then. Singer Vehicle Design threw open it’s doors & revealed it’s fourth ‘restored and reimagined’ car in November 2011 in Los Angeles. Singer chose a Porsche 964 to get sculpt & caress. Rob Dickinson, Singer’s creative Director & founder, says that the 964 was an attempt to create the “..perfect gentleman’s sports car for the road..”
The press release openly hints at Singer’s desire to be seen as a torch-bearer for the fast fading coach-building traditions of the past, where collaboration was the key to providing perfectly finished vehicles.
This, the fourth vehicle is the first to be in collaboration with Cosworth and Aria Group, & Singer are understandably proud. But ok, we’ve drifted away from the pricing issue here a little. So, what would you pay for a no expense spared, re-imagined and restored Porsche? Let me tell you, if you’re thinking anything less than £120,000 then you are looking at the wrong restorer – & that, say Singer, is the bottom end price. Purely high-end restoration & customisation and beyond the budget of most, a Singer Vehicle Design restored vehicle is almost too good to drive, which kind of misses the point. Though with 3 engine-class options of Touring (3.6 litre with 300 hp), Sport (3.9 litre with 360 hp) & Cup (3.9-4.0 litre with more than 400 hp) it’d be pretty impossible not to drive.
I love the idea of this, who in their right mind would consider taking the wonderful Porsche 911 design concept & believing it could be improved?
Singer Vehicle Design can be contacted at http://singervehicledesign.com.
Images from http://singervehicledesign.com
For more articles like this, receive our weekly e-newsletter, including partner deals and all things motoring, register your email below.
Please note: You cannot subscribe to Smart-Motoring unless you put a tick in the checkbox below to indicate have read and agreed to our privacy policy.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.