Singer Vehicle Design is the world's most prestigious Porsche 911 "Restomod" (retro-modification) brand, founded by former British rock band Catherine Wheel lead singer Rob Dickinson in 2009 in Los Angeles, USA. The brand name "Singer" is a pun: paying tribute to the founder's musician identity, and also paying tribute to Porsche legend engineer Norbert Singer, who played a key role in Porsche motorsport.
Before pursuing a music career, Rob Dickinson studied automotive design at Coventry University and worked for a period at the Lotus company. This experience accumulated theoretical and practical experience in industrial design for him, laying the technical and networking foundation for founding an automotive studio in the future.
Singer Vehicle Design is not a conventional modification factory, but an extreme performance custom workshop integrating design, engineering, and handmade manufacturing. The company specifically acquires Porsche 964-generation 911s produced between 1989 and 1994 as the base vehicles, then completely disassembles, restores, and redesigns them. The exterior retains the classic lines and temperament of the first-generation 911, while the chassis, suspension, powertrain, and interior are comprehensively remade with modern top materials and technology. The brand does not manufacture complete vehicles, only accepting client commissions to fully modify and restore their own 964-generation 911s. Singer is not an authorized or endorsed modification company by Porsche. All vehicles are exclusive custom orders for clients, costing about 40,000 work hours just from the basic bare chassis.
I. From Garage to First Car (2000–2009) Rob Dickinson moved to Los Angeles in 2000 after the Catherine Wheel band disbanded, beginning to realize his automotive dream. He attempted to restore his first 911 in 2003, piecing together a 1969 911 lightweight version with a distinct "cafe racer" style using scattered parts. In 2008, he rented a space in the desert east of Los Angeles, began restoration work for the first unit intended for sale, and established a supply chain for custom components with various suppliers. In 2009, Singer Vehicle Design was officially established in Los Angeles, possessing only a small workshop and a few craftsmen.
II. Growing Pains and Professional Transformation (2010–2018) Initially, the brand relied on word-of-mouth spread, but as orders surged, almost every car in early production lost money, and the founder once considered closing the brand due to costs far exceeding the selling price. The turning point came with the addition of CEO Mazen Fawaz—who disguised his own 993 replica as a customer visiting Singer's parking lot—and together with the founder, they reorganized the business, transforming the hand workshop into standardized management. In the 2010s, Singer established cooperation with top OEM suppliers such as Bosch, Michelin, Brembo, and Mahle, gradually expanding capacity.
III. Entering the High-End Limited Era (2018–2025) The brand launched a series of ultra-limited flagship projects one after another: the limited DLS (750 units) featuring Williams Advanced Engineering technology; and the Classic series limited to only 450 units. Starting in 2022, the company paused Classic series orders, shifting focus to the more expensive "Turbo Study", with a starting price exceeding $1 million. Meanwhile, the company scale grew exponentially: expanding from 7 employees in the early startup phase to over 800 people by 2025. As of early 2026, the brand had accumulated delivery of over 450 modified vehicles.
Singer's product strategy is project-based, with each "Study" series representing different engineering goals and aesthetic directions.
Classic Research: The cornerstone series of Singer, with naturally aspirated, lightweighting, and retaining the classic shape of the first-generation 911 as the core, offering elegant performance but not overly aggressive. Limited to 450 units before 2020, new orders have now stopped. Naturally aspirated power is approximately 390 horsepower, paired with 5-speed or 6-speed manual transmissions.
Dynamics & Lightweighting Research: The flagship engineering series pursuing ultimate track performance and extreme lightweighting. Developed in cooperation with Williams Advanced Engineering, deep engineering modification was performed based on the 964 chassis. All DLS models are equipped with all-carbon fiber bodies, and the chassis is additionally reinforced; the engine is a 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six, with peak output approximately 500 horsepower. Limited to 75 units, now sold out.
DLS Turbo: An extension project of the DLS series, injecting turbocharging technology into the DLS extreme framework for the first time, making it the most expensive and ambitious service product line in the brand's history, globally limited to 99 units. It retains DLS's all-carbon body and extremely lightweight magnesium alloy components, equipped with a 3.8-liter twin-turbo flat-six engine, maximum power 710 horsepower, redline exceeding 9000 RPM. Average transaction price is approximately $2.9 million, with auction market estimates reaching $3.45 million to $5 million.
Turbo Research: Paying homage to the wide-body turbo series of the original 1970s 930 Turbo on the classic 964 basis, it is a "Beast" style of modern reinterpretation, expected to release 499 units, becoming the main sales force for Singer in the future. Price starts from $1 million.
Classic Turbo Targa & Cabriolet (Convertible Family): Exclusive project for convertible models such as Targa and Cabriolet, performing special engineering reinforcement for the weakness of insufficient stiffness of the original factory, introducing F1 team structure optimization, increasing convertible chassis torsional rigidity by 175%, ensuring driving pleasure is close to the hardtop version.
Latest Released Non-Turbo Naturally Aspirated Model (2025): In August 2025, Singer catered to market demand, releasing models equipped with a brand new 4.0-liter naturally aspirated flat-six engine, co-developed with Cosworth, applying variable valve timing technology and water-cooled cylinder heads to naturally aspirated engines for the first time, outputting 425 horsepower, significantly increasing peak torque, balancing everyday driving smoothness, a pioneering work connecting past and future in Singer's current product line.
Singer's market performance shows a unique "Limited Release - Sold Out Upon Release - Collectible Value Continues to Rise" nature. The production quota of each limited project is often quickly subscribed by existing customers and collectors even before the price is publicly announced; the DLS series has long been sold out, and the Classic series actively stopped accepting orders in 2022 to maintain the value of existing models.
In terms of capacity and performance, Singer experienced a leap from loss to profit. Early orders incurred losses until CEO Maz Fawaz was introduced before things got back on track. The team expanded from 7 at the start-up to over 800 people, annual delivery quantity climbed from a dozen in early years to about 150 units. Externally estimated, brand annual revenue is about $1 billion level, and almost zero debt—all operations are driven by customer advance deposits. Singer's success has driven the continued rise in market value of the entire 964-generation 911: according to Hagerty data, the market value of 964 models has increased overall by 69% in the past five years.
In terms of price, the brand's entry threshold jumped from $200,000 early on to about $850,000 in recent years, with flagship limited models reaching over $3 million. In February 2024, Singer launched its 300th modified work, a 1990 964-generation 911 Targa, the value of which further verifies the brand's market status. The brand also plans to become the central sculpture theme brand of Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2026, becoming a "non-mass-produced car" brand to receive this honor after giants like Ferrari and Porsche.
Singer's core competitiveness stems from cross-boundary engineering thinking—the founder has a dual background in automotive design and music, and the team gathers top technical talents from Formula One, Aston Martin, and McLaren. Engineering strategy focuses on three major directions:
First, F1-level body reinforcement. Cooperating with Red Bull Advanced Technologies, high-precision scanning and finite element analysis were performed on convertible models, embedding carbon fiber reinforced components at 13 key load-bearing points, increasing convertible Targa and Cabriolet torsional rigidity by 175%, approaching hardtop vehicle levels.
Second, Vertically integrated powertrain. The 4.0-liter naturally aspirated version was co-developed with Cosworth, applying variable valve timing and water-cooled cylinder head technology, outputting 425 horsepower, meeting Euro 6 and other global strict emission regulations. The DLS Turbo project is equipped with a twin-turbo flat-six engine based on 3.8L displacement, using a water-cooled cylinder head and air-cooled cylinder block hybrid cooling system and an electric horizontal fan, stably outputting over 700 horsepower even over 9000 RPM.
Third, OEM partner electronic integration. Singer built a new generation electronic stability system and traction control system for the old 964 architecture, co-developed with Bosch five-stage adjustable driving modes, ABS, and the latest electronic stability solutions, providing modern safety protection while retaining the original analog handling feel.
Singer's headquarters is in Torrance, California, USA, integrating design, manufacturing, painting, and interior full capabilities in a factory covering approximately 115,000 square feet. Restoration and assembly of all ultra-high-end projects such as DLS Turbo are located at the UK technical center, fully utilizing the talent and supply chain advantages of the European motorsport industry.
The brand's global distribution mainly follows the "Headquarters directly connects with customers" model. Singer does not set up dealers, adopting a one-on-one collaboration model between original project teams and car owners, but after-sales service networks cover North America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia/New Zealand, major luxury car consumption markets.
In the Chinese market, Singer still has no official branch or direct-operated store, but due to the brand's prestigious influence in the luxury car collection world, multiple Singer modified 911s have entered Mainland China through parallel import channels and been delivered to top collectors, with transaction prices in public auctions for some vehicles exceeding 20 million RMB.
As of 2026, Singer Vehicle Design is in a new strategic leap period nearly twenty years since its founding.
On the product side, Singer has completed the progression from single classic naturally aspirated to DLS, DLS Turbo to Turbo Study, with powertrains fully covering naturally aspirated, turbocharged, hybrid cooling, and even potential electrification possibilities. The new naturally aspirated 4.0-liter project released in 2025, equipped with variable valve timing and water-cooled cylinder head technology, meets the core needs of fans pursuing linear power feedback. As prices continue to climb, Singer is gradually locking in the continued attention of the global top-tier car collection and investment circles.
At the brand and cultural influence level, Singer will be nominated in 2026 as the design theme for the Goodwood Festival of Speed's main sculpture. Its founder Rob Dickinson explicitly stated: "Goodwood 'celebrating perhaps is the unprecedented philosophy of letting a group of true car lovers run a car company', and this is exactly what Singer has always pursued."
On business boundaries, founder Rob Dickinson explicitly stated in a 2026 public interview: "In the future, Singer works will cover Porsche but not just 911. 928, 356... there are too many classics in Porsche history worthy of tribute." This statement suggests that Singer's brand map will expand outward from the single 964-generation 911. However, whether the brand will involve electrification power and whether its lightweight philosophy can be perfectly integrated into more modern structure platforms remains a suspense closely watched by outsiders.
Singer, driven by the unique "Magnificence at any cost" philosophy and founder's all-in perfectionism, established a highly influential luxury brand on the extremely narrow Restomod (retro-modification) track. After nearly twenty years of development, it grew from a "garage that almost closed" into a benchmark in global automotive culture. Singer provides a unique sample of handmade manufacturing in the post-industrial era: When the manufacturing industry is dominated by precision calculations and assembly lines, it is still able to attract the loyalty and love of a small group of the world's most picky people through obsession for perfection.
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