The Price of Horsepower: Joe Rogan & Matt Farah Deconstruct Singer Porsches
Sure, Singer Porsches carry astounding price tags, but as these two car nuts admit, they’re worth every penny.
Whether you’re a 911 fanatic or not, there’s no denying the incredible allure of Singer Porsches. These well-crafted machines offer amazing attention to detail and one of the finest automotive experiences available today. Built by a small group of obsessive men, many consider any Singer creation the ultimate Porsche, period. So it’s pretty interesting to listen to famous car guys Matt Farah and Joe Rogan talk about them.
Farah, host of The Smoking Tire, is an avid Porsche guy himself. He even recently picked up an ’87 911 that he’s currently turning into a Safari car, which he, like many these days, became enamored with after driving someone else’s. Farah carries on a fascinating discussion here about how the 911 makes the perfect rally car, thanks to its rear weight bias that works better on loose surfaces. With “no catch,” the car’s rear just “drifts and comes back,” with no “scary snap-back.” And apparently it works better traveling over “L.A.’s speed bumps and potholes,” too.
But it’s Rogan and Farah’s conversation about Singer Porsches that really gets us going. It all starts off with a discussion about “the exponential curve of Porsche horsepower costs.” Unlike many other builds, we’re all aware of the steep price associated with an extra 100 horsepower. Farah talks about how $40,000 will net you around 300 hp for a Singer engine on a stand. So, what about 500 ponies? Oh, just around $250k.
The reason, of course, is that Porsche air-cooled engines aren’t privy to the same tricks other engines enjoy. Namely, displacement limitations. Hence Singer’s latest “highly experimental” four valve cylinder heads, which are being developed by Williams, an F1 team. It’s a fascinating discussion about a fascinating car, one that’s already taking things to the next level. And of course, it just makes us covet Singer Porsches even more!
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