Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – the study review on dynamics and lightweight construction 2021

Absolutely mesmerizing. An air-cooled flat-six that behaves with such ferocity and intensity, response and precision – and makes such an intoxicating sound – that you drive it and instantly believe this is the zenith, the best road-going internal combustion engine mankind had ever devised. There have been a few of these over the years. A refresh for each of them (the V12s in the Ferrari F50 or McLaren F1, the in-line six-cylinder in the BMW E46 M3 CSL, the 4.5-liter V8 in the 458 Speciale, the Lexus LFA’s V10, maybe even a four-cylinder from Honda or Alfa) convinced you this is the best ever.

There’s no doubt that the new flat six in the rear of the DLS is right at the top, alongside all of the above (not to mention a flat six or two that Porsche developed in-house). But Porsche couldn’t do what Singer did now. Air-cooled engines were abandoned when the 993-generation 911 died 25 years ago – too expensive to get more power and efficiency from them. Singer paid the costs.

The DLS is what happens when F1 technology and process are applied to a Porsche 964 – not just the engine, but every single aspect down to the amazing details. Singer’s reputation for detail precedes him, now he’s working with Williams F1’s Advanced Engineering Business and a host of other world-class suppliers and people – one of my favorite facts is that two real Porsche legends, engine guru Hans Mezger (who sadly passed away last year ) and the legendary engineer Norbert Singer (yes, that’s where the name comes from) both advise at DLS. This is a Porsche 911 that showed up at, well, 11.

Talk to us about it.

This may not be complete or you would be reading War and Peace, but let’s stick with the engine for now. Thermal management is more difficult with air-cooled engines. Without a water jacket to pump around they’re lighter and more compact, but the large fan on the back of the motor can’t blow enough air to dissipate all of the heat during heavy use. In street engines, Porsche never dared to fit more than two valves per cylinder – more air flows through the engine, and soon heat builds up and at some point the stuff starts to melt. To combat that, you’ll need to throw more fuel and more exotic materials at it.

It’s infinitely more complex and nuanced than we just described, but the DLS runs on throttle bodies with two injectors per cylinder and four valve heads. The valves are made of titanium filled with sodium, the exhaust is made of Inconel and titanium, and the fan is made of magnesium. Likewise the housing in which it rotates.

To improve weight distribution and relieve the engine, Singer installed a large capacity lithium-ion battery under the hood to operate the air conditioning and hydraulic power steering. Neither of the two draws current directly from the engine and in fact the alternator only charges when the flat six has a reserve load, ie is not heavily used. The intent is that nothing stands between you and getting absolutely everything from a naturally aspirated engine spinning up to 9,300 rpm that seems to be able to caress every single nerve ending you own.

In essence, the chassis and subframe are the same. But the DLS is 60 percent stiffer. Not only was a 40mm FIA roll cage hidden in it (mostly), but the carbon fiber body panels are structural and add rigidity. And Singer has found the same front axle solution as Porsche itself.

Like the latest GT3, this has a double wishbone front suspension that improves steering, grip and precision – useful when the rear axle is a pivot and the engine behind it leverages the front. Something that Singer fought: By reducing the gearbox housing, it was possible to push the engine forward by a few centimeters. Here’s another revealing detail: the dampers are from Exe-TC, the same company that Seb Loeb has endorsed most of his WRC championships, suggesting how Singer envisions this car. It is not a locked racer but is designed to be easy to use and comfortable.

And then there is the aerodynamics. The entire car was subjected to a full Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) program. Apparently, the ducktail spoiler on the rear of the famous 1973 Carrera RS didn’t add much more stability. To make it really effective, the roofline has been lowered by 20mm. It is camouflaged by a slim bridge spoiler that also serves to direct air over the plexiglass back wall and on to a 22mm higher, more upright ducktail with a built-in 5mm Gurney flap. This is balanced out by a front splitter and sophisticated underbody aerodynamics.

I could go on – the efforts that have been made here are ridiculous. But look at it this way. The care and care with which Singer has always treated the cosmetics of the 964, the truth contained in “reimagined”, has now also been transferred to the technology. In the words of Singer founder Rob Dickinson, the plan was “no inhibitions, how great can an old air-cooled 911 be?”.

And what’s the answer?

Great. It’s endlessly captivating from start to finish, emphatically not a car that needs to go fast to be appreciated. The act of engaging a gear in the Hewland six-speed manual transmission. Lift the powerful clutch and get rolling. The feeling of how the rally dampers cushion the road and at the same time communicate the surface structure. To let the engine climb. All of this and more are available at low speed, it’s a treat from start to finish.

But the really clever things happen when you go faster. Open the taps on the third and the response is so immediate, so powerful in a car that weighs so little that it is overloaded the first few times. Everything happens at the same time: intake air is swallowed down, the rear crouches down, the seat presses into you, the speed increases. Stick with it and the noise, almost exclusively induction instead of exhaust, will become the main event. It is wonderful. So present, unfiltered and yet melodic, so motorsport. It feels, sounds and acts like a racing engine. The revs go up and down instantly, but somehow every heel ‘n’ toe downshift is perfect. I checked once to see if there was a jump in speed that would help my footwork. There wasn’t, the pedals just do it.

Weighing less than 1,100 kg (nearly 1,000 kg if you forego the noselift, air conditioning, and subwoofers on this car), the DLS is very, very fast, but beyond Williams’ calculations that it is roughly 210 mph Singer has no idea what the acceleration might be. It is irrelevant. They know it’s fast and that’s enough for a car that is supposed to celebrate driving.

Likewise, it does not seek to correct the handling characteristics of the 964, but rather to make them more reassuring and flattering. Take off as you twist in and the tail will move quickly but progressively. That famous trait is there and correct, but the choice now is yours. You can take advantage of this with the super-precise throttle. In that case, you’ll find that the DLS’s chassis has a drift sweet spot a mile wide. Or you can work both axes more evenly. In that case, you’ll be amazed at how confident you feel in the front of the car and how nice it is to have steering with real feel and linear behavior that is super sharp not just from the center.

Take a bend in second gear with balanced throttle, nail it down and it’s the front wheels that give first and slip into understeer, but that’s what an old 911 is all about – understanding the dynamics and balance of the car and then to get the best of it. The CCM-R Brembo brakes are amazingly potent, their performance, speed and grip are cutting-edge, but the underlying chassis characteristics are 30 years old.

And that’s a disadvantage, isn’t it?

No, there is nothing wrong with that. It’s not as clean and polished and ruthless as a modern supercar or hypercar, but it shows (like so many restomods) why we love cars like this one. It is not a battle of numbers that has so little relevance to the actual driving experience. Instead, this is an old 911 that is leading its best life.

Singer’s Dynamics and Lightweighting Study is forgiving, rewarding, and intense, an even bigger step after any of their normal restorations than we expected. But the engine also stands proudly beyond the usual remarkable strengths of Singer. Not just the heart and soul, but the manufacture of the DLS.

Yes, it’s a huge, gigantic amount of money, but is that in itself worse than a Bugatti Chiron or a Rimac Nevera just because it’s slower? Because, I’ll tell you something, I’d rather drive it on a good road or track than on both. This is Porsche’s 911 Reimagined by Singer, now reinterpreted. A car that indulges, that shines while driving and nothing else.