NineMeister

As mentioned above, 9m supplied the engine package for the Singer 911 & I was fortunate (?) to be called in by Rob Dickinson to help out with the installation & build in the week leading up to its friday launch at Monterey and the Laguna Seca display. Here are some of the less obvious details:

Rob's vision for the Singer 911 is to offer for sale turn-key cars which are his interpretation of the "ultimate" early look 911, in the spirit of the higher end R-Group car. The car is based on a G50 Carrera 3.2 platform, powered by a 9m Racing 3.82 litre 400+hp engine on Motec engine management through a 6 speed close ratio gearbox. The 17" wheels (9 & 11) hide servo'd Turbo/RSR brakes, double adjustable coil over shocks & adjustable anti-roll bars - essentially the chassis will use all the best-of-the-best chassis parts from 35 years of the Porsche aftermarket development. Revised heating & a/c, electric power steering, traction control & other options are currently being considered for the production car. The interior of the prototype featured custom built early style roll-top bucket seats but with full electric controls.

The bodywork is probably of the greatest interest to most since it is absolutely unique to this car. Using the help of friends in the motor industry, Rob & the team clay modeled the arch profiles, fenders, side skirts, front & rear bumpers & engine lid spoiler (on a 964 pop-up); then took carbon moulds from the clay buck in order to make the panels on the car. The details in the lines is exquisite and the panel fits exemplary by any 911 standards, these were the best panels & have ever seen.

Some of the features which are less obvious include the following, all custom designed & manufactured for this car are:
Hella Bi-xenon headlights with dummy chromed carbon reflector & shroud & clear perspex "lens"
1 piece front indicator/fog lamp unit with chromed moulded housing
1 piece chrome moulded rear light with early style lenses
Billet fuel & oil filler caps, oil filler on rhs quarter into modified 993 oil tank
"Ducktail" pop-up spoiler with bright annodised CNC machined billet alloy grille
Functional billet alloy door mirror with custom moulded quarter light glass (yes, glass)

In respect of the build, I questioned my fortune for being involved because (as it always seems to be with show cars) it took 6 people over 50 hours each to complete the car between Monday afternoon including an all-nighter on Thursday to see it leave the LA shop at 7.00am Friday to get to the launch at Monterey by noon. On behalf of Rob, can I please "big-up" Tim, John, Martin & Trace at Hollywood Motor Works, Andy the interior design specialist (who slept at the shop for 2 nights) & Mo the fabricator for being a fantastic team to work with, for all the partners who put up with our absence and finally to Guido's Pizza for keeping us going through the night!

NineMeister

Here's a picture of the engine when I finally had the chance to fire it up - at 03:00am on the Friday morning.....

a964man

Me like very much, those wheels, headlights and Tag clock look fantastic, I'm defo saving those pics, thanks for sharing

jneteler

I'm thinking that with just a bit more effort neatening up that engine compartment it could look as glorious as I'm sure it runs.

JNeteler

evoderby

The engine spec reads like a dream and the finished product looks great. Almost seems a 'crime' however to truly run this beast without air filters, are these still on the drawing board?

Sal 965

Sounds like an episode of overhaulin'. An truely awesome car - modern build and tech with old school looks. I'm sure this would be a dream car for a lot of people on here.

NineMeister

Erm, yes, could not agree more. We did manage to tidy everything up later, but to give you an idea of the scale of the task in hand, here is the very next shot of the car after I ran the engine.

Less than 4 hours later it drove out of the shop.....

NineMeister

Rob had made a set of drop-in tea strainers to use on display, these can be seen in other photos. The intention is to make some permanent mesh strainers although I would prefer it if we fitted the 9m Racing air filters as shown below on the engine in the black 9m93RS Clubsport Widebody.

CWay27

Everybody comments about the clock but did anyone notice the rocker panel (side skirts) and front bumper...... These are a work of art and Porsche should of made them like that from the start. Wow front skirt is simply awesome.

NineMeister

Exactly.

For those of us who have desire & the ability to build an R-Group car it is likely that you would do it yourself and prefer the resulting journey to completion. However, this car is pitched firmly for prospective owners who crave their own "ultimate early 911", but who have not the time nor desire to go through the drama of project managing the job.

NineMeister

Rockers, bumpers, arches, fenders, spoiler - they are indeed a work of art. It took 4 months for Rob & Dave (modeler) to get the clay model perfect before taking their moulds direct from the clay buck.

At the moment there are no plans to sell body kits because they want to maintain the exclusivity of the finished cars.

eman123

I'm drooling..unfortunately I'm certain that a Singer 911 will be so far out of my price range that I can only hope to win the lottery.

On a separate but somewhat related topic, is Rob Dickinson the same Rob Dickinson as the founder of the band Catherine Wheel?

Metal Guru

I don't know but I find that car grotesque, stuck between being an authentic long hood and a 3.0 RS.
I always thought that orange and green don't match.

PNine64

Funny...I've been thinking about painting my cups a similar orange to that and getting a script to match the wheels. I'm just not sure how it would look on my Targa (as opposed to the coupes). I'm a little hesitant to diverge from OEM though (then again...wheels colors and stickers are easy enough to flip back).

I really like the car. I think I remember NineMeister posting about a "special project"...I'm guessing this is/was it. Nice.

NineMeister

The very same. I'm led to believe that his cousin is Bruce Dickinson, of Iron Maiden fame - and furthermore it was a complete coincidence that both groups were named after mediaeval torture devices! Before embarking on his music Rob qualified as a vehicle designer & worked for Lotus amongst others, he followed a solo career after the group split, but the lure to get back to his primary skill set eventually became to much to resist.

The colour scheme is definitely period and somewhat of a controversial point, based on Robs' similar scheme on his bahama Yellow 911S. Most people actually like it when they see it in the flesh, the green complementing the similarly period bottle green interior (trust me, you have to see it).