Singer’s Restomod Tribute to the Porsche 930 Could Fetch $2.25 Million at Auction
Since its debut in 1963, the Porsche 911 has universally enthralled motoring enthusiasts with its approachability, athleticism, and aesthetics—a combination that's arguably without equal among sports cars . It's no surprise, then, that the model continues to fuel the imagination of aficionados and engineers alike, creating a cottage industry of restoration houses focused on using the quintessential coupe as the framework for their own creative expressions.
A pioneer on this front, and still at the vanguard, is Rob Dickinson and his team at Singer . The latest evidence of their prowess is showcased in the atelier's reenvisioning of the 964-generation of the 911 (built from 1989 through 1994) through the prism of their Classic Turbo services. The first example of the latter to be made available to the public will be offered on May 3—one of the headline lots of the Bonhams Miami Auction, set to coincide with the city's Formula 1 Grand Prix weekend.
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This 1990 Porsche 911, reimagined through Singer's Classic Turbo restoration services, will be auctioned by Bonhams on May 3.
"This example demonstrates Singer's masterwork in reimagining the original 930 Turbo," says Eric Minoff, head of the Bonhams Motoring Department in the U.S. The model that Minoff references is Porsche's first turbocharged variant of the 911. Designated by the manufacturer internally as the 930, it was introduced in 1975. For the first couple of years, the car was fitted with a 3.0-liter, turbocharged flat-six delivering 256 hp. That engine was mated to a four-speed manual transmission. Yet while the results of Singer's Classic Turbo services take inspiration from—and pay tribute to—the 930, they reflect a half-century of advancement in automotive artisanship and performance.
The finished product crossing the auction block, dubbed "the Sun Valley Commission," was the culmination of a journey begun at the request of a repeat client of Singer, Idaho-resident Dave Stone. "Anything Rob does is just breathtaking," Stone tells Robb Report . "When I saw the renderings, I just had to have it."
The interior is a meticulously customized ode to analog.
As with any Classic Turbo treatment, the 964-gen donor was stripped down to the chassis, which was then bolstered to accommodate the sum of the subsequent enhancements. The power plant is a version of the "Mezger" air-cooled flat-six mill, which is enlarged to a displacement of 3.8 liters and given twin turbochargers—modifications that boost output to, in this case, 510 hp. This strengthened heart is complemented by a six-speed manual transmission and a rear-wheel-drive configuration—all housed within carbon-fiber bodywork. The interior of the vehicle is a meticulously customized ode to analog, from the gauges to the period-correct—but beautifully reinterpreted—12-way-adjustable seats that have mechanical lumbar support.
"Finished in a unique-to-this-example shade of Dirty Oak Green Metallic over Ivory leather with Olive accents, it's a brilliantly optioned example," says Bonhams' Minoff. He also notes that there are "numerous extras, including carbon-ceramic brakes and even a serial-number-matching Singer Reimagined Flytrack Watch." As for the amount of usage on the restomod, Minoff mentions that "it shows only 270 miles on the odometer."
The power plant is a version of the "Mezger" air-cooled flat-six mill, which is enlarged to a displacement of 3.8 liters and given twin turbochargers.
Despite logging such low mileage in it as the owner, Stone calls the drive experience "unbelievable," noting that the car "pulls like a brand-new [Porsche 911] Turbo S… passing is just so effortless and fun." Comparing how this commission measures against other cars in his collection, Stone is pointed in his response: "It blurs the lines between scalpel and sword."
The "Sun Valley Commission" was a restoration project that took just under two years, and the car has only 270 miles on it since.
Singer's Classic Turbo services start at $855,000, and Stone acknowledges that his commission "took just under two years." The rarity of such a turnkey opportunity for ownership, paired with the fact that no other 911 reimagined by Singer's Classic Turbo services has come to market, is among the reasons why Bonhams has set the high-end estimate for this car at $2.25 million.
Click here for more photos of this 1990 Porsche 911 reimagined by Singer's Classic Turbo services.
This 1990 Porsche 911, reimagined through Singer's Classic Turbo restoration services, will be auctioned by Bonhams in May.
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