Singer Debuts DLS at Goodwood FOS

Back in 2017, we gave you the lowdown on what we thought was the best car ever built - the Singer DLS, or Dynamic Lightweight Study. Based in California, the boutique restoration house reimagines Porsche 911s from the late eighties and early nineties. More specifically, the 964-generation 911. The Absinthe-coloured car was a piece of art and we thought it would be impossible to outdo what the firm had achieved back then. Turns out, we were wrong, as Singer has made quite a splash at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed with a newer version co-developed with Williams Advanced Engineering. Yes, the same company that produces the Martini-liveried Formula 1 cars. In essence, the latest DLS is an attempt to showcase what a Porsche 911 can be when there are absolutely no limitations. Helmuth Bott would have been so proud *sniff*.

Recommended Read: Singer DLS: Old Dog, New Tricks

So, are you ready for some car porn? We hope you are. The latest DLS uses a traditional air-cooled, four-valve head, flat-six motor that displaces 4.0 litres. However, it gets modern touches such as titanium valves and double overhead cams. The engine makes 500PS of max power at 9000rpm and uses a magnesium cooling fan, lightweight throttle bodies along with F1-inspired upper and lower injectors for better performance. This motor is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox that drives the rear wheels. No flappy paddles here! The gear lever itself has been raised slightly to make it closer to the wheel and Singer has left the titanium and magnesium linkages exposed and it looks absolutely stunning.

Recommended Read: 70 Years Of Porsche: A Brief History Of The 911

The entire aerodynamic package of the car has been reworked by Williams. Every surface has been reassessed and re-evaluated using computational fluid dynamics. The boffins at Williams have even managed to rid the car of front axle lift by redesigning the front oil-cooler intake and venting and fitting the front end with a brand new splitter. Even the iconic ducktail spoiler, which first made an appearance in the 911 RSR, has been optimised for better downforce. On the 911 RSR, the air used to flow over the spoiler, barely applying enough pressure to create downforce. However, a newly integrated roof channel along with the small rear window spoiler and the new diffuser help generate proper downforce at the rear end.

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Williams has also tweaked the chassis and focused on torsional rigidity, chassis balance and weight reduction. The front suspension is a lightweight multi-link, double wishbone setup, while the rear suspension comprises of an aluminium trailing arm with bespoke mass-optimised adjustable dampers and integral brake cooling. The bodywork is all carbon-fibre and it lets you know just how serious the weight shedding is. The gearbox, on the other hand, uses magnesium casings and hollow shafts for a lower rotating mass, which helps deliver better performance. The brakes are carbon ceramic units built by Brembo and can be used both on the road and your favourite race track.

Recommended Read: The Porsche 959: The Car That Save The 911

In terms of driver aids, the Singer gets ABS and ESC with a bespoke calibration by Bosch. It also gets switchable driving modes and a switchable traction control system. Even the 295-section Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rear tyres were built exclusively for the DLS. They feature an asymmetric design so that they blend perfectly with the rear flared wheel arches. Among other bespoke parts are the wheels by BBS that resemble the original Fuchs design. They are made from magnesium and feature a single central lug nut.

On the inside, you get a bespoke interior with bespoke Recaro seats, a Momo carbon-fibre steering wheel, a beautifully crafted exposed gear linkage, a tachometer finished in gold and incredible attention to detail.

The price for all this tech and craftsmanship? A mere $1.8 million or Rs 12.32 crore before taxes. And Singer says it isn’t charging the exuberant amount because it can since it actually costs the firm close to that figure to build the car.