Review: The £2.5M Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer is a restomod like no other

What happens when a vintage Porsche 911 meets cutting-edge Formula One tech? The result is the DLS Turbo by Singer – a wildly powerful, meticulously engineered restomod that’s redefining the modern classic...

As anyone familiar with superyachts knows, treating an older boat to a contemporary upgrade is called a refit. Do the same thing to an old car and it’s called “resto-modding” – a portmanteau of restoring and modifying.

Creating resto-mods has become big business the world over, with everything from Alfa Romeos to Volvos now being breathed-on by highly skilled artisans who know how to turn historic cars into practical daily drivers for the 21st century, without – crucially – erasing their classic character. And it’s widely agreed that Singer Vehicle Design – which focuses solely on what it calls “reimagining” air-cooled Porsche 911s built between 1989 and 1994 – is among the best in the business.

Singer was set up in 2009 by Rob Dickinson, former vocalist and guitarist with the now-defunct British rock band Catherine Wheel, after his own modified car – the Brown Bomber – prompted many enquiries from other Porsche enthusiasts.

What Dickinson probably couldn’t have imagined was that the business born from a hobby would today employ 600 people, having completed more than 450 restorations for customers across 30 countries.

Key to Singer Vehicle Design’s success has been its mantra, “a relentless pursuit of excellence”, which led to its restored and modified Porsches being described as rolling works of art, with virtually every component of each car being improved, re-modelled or re-developed to create the ultimate expression of the air-cooled 911.

Such excellence does not, of course, come cheap: at the outset 16 years ago, a “Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer” (as the cars must legally be called) would set you back around $250,000 (£172,500).

But, as engineering techniques have evolved over the years, specifications have improved and demand has outstripped supply, prices have increased to the point that the latest creation from Singer Vehicle Design – the DLS Turbo – has a base price of around £2.2 million. Bespoke additions on top can bring the cost of the average DLS Turbo to around £2.5 million.

DLS stands for dynamics and lightweight services and refers to Dickinson’s decision to look to the world of Formula One in search of engineering solutions that would result in the most advanced cars of their type ever created.

The first restorations of turbocharged cars – named Classic Turbos – were completed in 2022 and were instantly recognisable as purely road-going cars, albeit with the Singer twist.

The DLS Turbo, however, was inspired by the fire-breathing Porsche 934/5 endurance racers of the 1970s and, while it is street legal, it features the muscular looks, huge wings and monstrous power of a full-blown competition car.

But what is perhaps most impressive is that the DLS Turbo has been engineered to be sufficiently docile for relaxed day-to-day driving while also being capable of smashing lap records on track, with buyers being given the option for their car to be road or track focused.

But if you want to experience one, you’ll need to be quick. Only 99 DLS Turbos will be built, and the order books are filling up fast – despite that refit worthy price tag. singervehicledesign.com

First published in the April 2025 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.