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Written by Jack Rix
"What if Singer worked on restoring and modifying my beloved 27-year old Porsche 964, with the assistance of an engineering concern born from the world of F1. How would such a car look and how would it perform?" This was the question an enthusiastic Singer customer called Scott Blattner posed two years ago, and the Absinthe-coloured car up there is Singer"s typically emphatic response.In a nutshell it"s one of Singer"s restored 911s turned up to 11, and the product of a collaborative project with Williams Advanced Engineering focused on reducing weight and turning up performance. Not content with working exclusively with an F1 outfit, Singer also drafted in some of the most celebrated engineers from Porsche"s past, a roster of celebrity test drivers and tasked its brakes, tyres, wheels, gearbox and suspension suppliers with upping their game accordingly.The result is a suite of new, more extreme restoration options for customers who want to push their 964 donor car to the limit. Blattner"s car is the one you see here, the first to feature the upgrades, and one of only 75 examples that will be built not in California, but here in the UK at a new facility on the Williams campus in Oxforshire known as Singer at Grove. Whether they chose to strip their car bare like Blattner, or dress it for continent touring duties is entirely down to the customer.We begin with the engine: a Porsche four-valve, four-camshaft, naturally aspirated, 493bhp, air-cooled flat-six, revving to 9,000rpm and designed in collaboration with none other than Hans Mezger. Our hairs are standing to attention at just the thought of it. A lightweight six-speed manual developed by Hewland and left with a mesmerising exposed linkage, send all that power to the rear tyres bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s.
Date written: 14 Nov 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 9949
"What if Singer worked on restoring and modifying my beloved 27-year old Porsche 964, with the assistance of an engineering concern born from the world of F1. How would such a car look and how would it perform?" This was the question an enthusiastic Singer customer called Scott Blattner posed two years ago, and the Absinthe-coloured car up there is Singer"s typically emphatic response.In a nutshell it"s one of Singer"s restored 911s turned up to 11, and the product of a collaborative project with Williams Advanced Engineering focused on reducing weight and turning up performance. Not content with working exclusively with an F1 outfit, Singer also drafted in some of the most celebrated engineers from Porsche"s past, a roster of celebrity test drivers and tasked its brakes, tyres, wheels, gearbox and suspension suppliers with upping their game accordingly.The result is a suite of new, more extreme restoration options for customers who want to push their 964 donor car to the limit. Blattner"s car is the one you see here, the first to feature the upgrades, and one of only 75 examples that will be built not in California, but here in the UK at a new facility on the Williams campus in Oxforshire known as Singer at Grove. Whether they chose to strip their car bare like Blattner, or dress it for continent touring duties is entirely down to the customer.We begin with the engine: a Porsche four-valve, four-camshaft, naturally aspirated, 493bhp, air-cooled flat-six, revving to 9,000rpm and designed in collaboration with none other than Hans Mezger. Our hairs are standing to attention at just the thought of it. A lightweight six-speed manual developed by Hewland and left with a mesmerising exposed linkage, send all that power to the rear tyres bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s.
Date written: 14 Nov 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 9949
