In response to requests from its clientele, California-based Singer Vehicle Design has evolved its DLS (Dynamics & Lightweighting Study) to incorporate both the mechanical and aesthetic attributes of forced induction. The so-called DLS Turbo has already been created in two different body styles for separate early adopters, both of which pay homage to Porsche’s Group 4 racer, the 934/5, that was devised by Peter Gregg and the Brumos team to compete in IMSA in the late 1970s.
“I was 12 when my father’s friend showed us his Super 8 film of the 1977 Watkins Glen 6 Hours,” explains Singer founder Rob Dickinson of the origins of his latest creation. “As the familiar face of a Porsche 911 morphed into impossibly boxed hips, gaping intakes, and a giant double-planed rear wing, I can still remember the shock and the realization that this was the other life of the 911 – the racing car. Since Singer began, I’ve wanted to return to that moment, collaborate with our clients and celebrate that car – the 934/5.”
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Once again based on the 964 chassis, the DLS Turbo sees its owner’s donor car stripped to the bare metal monocoque before undergoing restoration and strengthening. The new car is then built up with bespoke all-carbon fibre bodywork, designed with CFD or computational fluid dynamics, to ensure the lowest possible kerb weight and maximum rigidity.
At the heart of every DLS Turbo is Singer’s own 3.8-litre four valve flat six, fitted with twin turbochargers, electronic wastegates and air-to-water intercooling to supplement a horizontally mounted and electrically powered fan. Peak power is rated at around 700hp according to Singer’s own testing, arriving at over 9,000rpm.
“The results of turbocharging our advanced 4-valve, high-revving DLS engine have been quite spectacular,” continues Dickinson, “and combining it with all we have learned about lightweighting and vehicle dynamics has provided the perfect canvas to honor the Type 934/5 and its vital role in the genesis of the 911 as a racing car.”
As ever, this huge power is delivered to the rear wheels only via a six-speed manual gearbox and contained by carbon ceramic brake discs with monobloc callipers. The car can be fitted with remotely adjustable dampers and comes shod in either Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 or Cup 2R tyres.
The body styles Singer has created for the DLS Turbo offer either road or track focus, the latter incorporating an adjustable high downforce rear wing, larger front splitters and a unique wheel design that references the 934/5’s vast centre-lock BBS-style alloys. The former, meanwhile, features an aerodynamically optimised ducktail rear spoiler, lower drag front fascia and Spyder design alloys. The wheels are made from lightweight forged aluminium and split in size, with 19-inch fronts and 20inch rears. Both nose and tail treatments are removeable, meaning that owners will in theory have the opportunity to swap styles at will depending on usage.
Singer is typically evasive about price and availability for the DLS Turbo, but ‘lots’ and ‘none’ is a reasonable place to start. An example is expected to make its UK debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.