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Singer Vehicle Design Celebrates Its 100th Commission
Sorry this post will make many on this forum upset... but hats off to SVD.
They've made a great product, and it's been truly fascinating watching Rob Dickinson grow his business selling half million dollar 964s. Given that they are collaborating with Williams Advanced Engineering now, let's hope they are secretly designing a carbon tub, a la Ruf. From Flatsixes,com: At Singer Vehicle Design "everything is important". It's the credo to which each of the company's employees subscribes, and that can be seen in the product they roll out. Every Porsche 911 Reimagined By Singer is an example of everything being important. It can also be seen in the words hanging from the ceiling, a not-so-gentle reminder to the people in the building that their decisions should always be biased toward quality. Porsche loving enthusiasts with gobs of discretionary income have felt the quality in Singer's offerings first hand, and put their money down on the dotted line. 100 of them, exactly, as the first triple-digit example rolled out of their assembly shop yesterday headed to its new owner. These machines sell sometimes for more than half a million dollars, but they can't make them fast enough. With a backlog in the high double digits, Singer is always busy making the next commission. Rob Dickinson, ex-Catherine Wheel front man, brought his idea to life at least a half dozen years ago, and it's been a meteoric rise ever since. Singer were given mainstream motoring media attention in an episode of /Drive's Chris Harris on Cars back in 2013. In those early days, the company were producing no more than a handful of cars per year, but they've experienced significant growth over the last two years or so that sees them producing dozens of cars annually. http://flatsixes.com/wp-content/uplo...orsche-100.jpg When we visited their facility a couple of years ago, there were still no more than a dozen employees around the shop, but as you can see in the picture above, they've expanded their workforce significantly as well. Rumor has it that they've purchased a new building, and are subcontracting out some of the prep work now to keep production on schedule. It's safe to say that the demand for these incredible cars isn't going to wane anytime soon. Congratulations to Singer Vehicle Design on 'reimagining' 100 gorgeous examples. Here's to the next hundred!The 100th car in question can be seen in various instagram posts from yesterday. It is a beautiful silver example, but we don't know much beyond that. As per usual, Singer is tight lipped about the car, and there's no indication of who might have commissioned the 100th build, though a few posts have christened the car #AlabamaCommission |
I was lucky enough to get a tour of the facility and see many of the finished cars, as well as those in production. Reminded me of a trip I took in school to Crewe, to see the Rolls Royce factory, same level of commitment to quality and perfection.
I know the purists blush and several here have said they cold produce a car of equal or greater quality for less money, but you know, I don't think they could. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is not new on the car and that adds up. I once complained to the MBZ dealer that the parts were so expensive, my advisor said if you wanted to build your E55 from scratch using MBZ parts, it would cost about 900k. For me, an interesting litmus test was when, back in the beginning, Porsche actually sued Singer to have their name removed from the cars. Once the factory reps came and saw them in the flesh, Porsche dropped its suit. Tells you something. That and the fact that second hand, Singers mostly trade for more than the original price paid by the client. |
Originally Posted by misterbeverlyhills
(Post 15112469)
I was lucky enough to get a tour of the facility and see many of the finished cars, as well as those in production. Reminded me of a trip I took in school to Crewe, to see the Rolls Royce factory, same level of commitment to quality and perfection.
I know the purists blush and several here have said they cold produce a car of equal or greater quality for less money, but you know, I don't think they could. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is not new on the car and that adds up. I once complained to the MBZ dealer that the parts were so expensive, my advisor said if you wanted to build your E55 from scratch using MBZ parts, it would cost about 900k. For me, an interesting litmus test was when, back in the beginning, Porsche actually sued Singer to have their name removed from the cars. Once the factory reps came and saw them in the flesh, Porsche dropped its suit. Tells you something. That and the fact that second hand, Singers mostly trade for more than the original price paid by the client. |
Hmmm, I wonder if that is my friend's car. His is silver and it was supposed to be delivered about now.
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Originally Posted by rkwfxd
(Post 15120162)
Hmmm, I wonder if that is my friend's car. His is silver and it was supposed to be delivered about now.
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Originally Posted by Lorenzoh
(Post 15120233)
Your “friend “ got the 100th singer and you heard about it here?? 👌 |
I watched a cool video on this car last night. Jay lenos garage on YouTube if anyone is interested.
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Very interesting. So based on what they are saying my turbo has equal power to weight after some bolt on mods with nearly double the torque.
I love the claim at 2660 that they saved 500 pounds on a C2 which usually weighs in at just under 3000. Must be new math. I also like the claim of nearly 40,000 Coupes made. :confused: I have to say I am not impressed by the sound which I expected to sound better. My C2 sounds so much better IMO. Another 130 of these? |
I'm still a fan of what Singer does, and appreciated the quality of work in an entirely new way once I saw one several years ago. What I appreciate more is a modern business employing craftsmen and women to build something enjoyable to the market. Sure, it may last only so long but I'm happy to see it happen at all.
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Originally Posted by cobalt
(Post 15347791)
...Another 130 of these?
I liked his comments regarding the 964's stiff shell. The car feels pretty tight and strong for a 30 year old road car. In general and in its original form, 2600 lbs with 400 hp in a small car like a 964 sounds pretty ideal to me. |
BTW there are no $500k Singers anymore, even used, they trade at $750k and up.
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I'd love a deep story of those on the list with deposits and progress payments made that have been constantly delayed and delayed and delayed. Singer seems to be great about taking deposits and build slots and not so great about delivering cars (I've heard numbers of over 300 orders placed). I know of a couple that have orders, both are delayed substantially and both were committed cars earlier this year. That on top of substantial investment in this special thing they dumped a bunch of money on, the constant increases in build prices... if it were my 500k+ I'd be asking some real questions on what is going on. Whats the term? Over promise under deliver??
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Originally Posted by Spyerx
(Post 15348121)
I'd love a deep story of those on the list with deposits and progress payments made that have been constantly delayed and delayed and delayed. Singer seems to be great about taking deposits and build slots and not so great about delivering cars (I've heard numbers of over 300 orders placed). I know of a couple that have orders, both are delayed substantially and both were committed cars earlier this year. That on top of substantial investment in this special thing they dumped a bunch of money on, the constant increases in build prices... if it were my 500k+ I'd be asking some real questions on what is going on. Whats the term? Over promise under deliver??
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Originally Posted by goin2drt
(Post 15348154)
This. The company is a mess. The amount you pay up front and then you are stuck. They have no problem delaying you and delaying you. I wouldn't be surprised that MANY people get screwed on their builds. They are so leveraged the way they get all this money "up front", it can't be healthy. Many folks have said that now they will have some REAL competition with Sooner that folks saw at Rennsport. More affordable and ALL original Porsche parts, no fabrication.
Building cars is hard, ask Elon. Ask anyone who has done a custom build. |
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