Singer ACS: A Competition Rally 911 Meets Bespoke Luxury
Bred with the DNA of racing champions, this new Singer collaboration with Tuthill Porsche will be one for the history books.
If you love racing and you love Porsche, you know that the company was built on the foundation of its rally program. A race by the name of the Monte Carlo Rally (which has now in running for over a century) was just coming into its 60th year when Porsche would make its first ever entry into a racing event with a 911. The car would go 5th place that year, but would not have to wait long for the taste of victory. From 1968 to 1970, the would end up seeing 3 consecutive Porsche wins, cementing the then-new 911 in rally history forever.
With rallying excellence embedded in the Porsche DNA, the legendary teams at both Tuthill Porsche and Singer Vehicle Design decided to create the absolutely most stunning rally 911 conceivable: The Singer ACS. The good folks at Top Gear on YouTube had the chance to catch up with Richard Tuthill, director of Tuthill Porsche to discuss some details about this project. Let’s go over some of those juicy bits.
Singer: Automotive Elegance
The first thing without a doubt you notice about this 964-based 911 when you see it is that it doesn’t look any other 911 you have ever seen. The front end is overshadowed by potentially the largest front-mounted mud flaps ever. This is starkly contrasted by the tiny front windshield size along with the obviously widened and lifted fenders. To give this 911 its imposing stance, there are five-way adjustable shocks with massively oversized BF Goodrich offroad tires. Two shocks per wheel, this 911 is about much more than just looking pretty. It is an absolute beast of a race car though and though, but with a design touch that only could be considered art in motion and nothing less.
Body panels are constructed of carbon fiber as you would expect of a build of this level and feature some stunning detail pieces. Such as the molding of the rear trunk lip or the embossed Porsche logo in the ACS’s red accent color. Maybe the single-piece CNC aluminum rear bumper? There are so many pretty and intricate details with this car that will leave any Porsche fan drooling at the details.
The car itself is the first to be built with only one more development prototype currently in mind. It is a 1990 964 911 with a twin-turbo 3.6L flat-six with about 450 HP. Sequential gearbox, hydraulic handbrake, 2 full-sized spare wheels with tires– you best believe this 911 is battle ready. With its extended range fuel cell, the ACS can be driven several hundred miles at a time to accommodate for longer stage rallys.
Handcrafted Design, Race-level Functionality
While the engine is air-cooled, the car does have a front mounted radiator which runs on an independent system to cool external heat exchanger, such as an oil cooler. We are talking nutty stuff here, full race navigation, a race hydration system, the works.
The host best describes the interior, “this is very much a stripped out, competition-ready interior, but it’s also a Singer. So they have managed to introduce luxury in the little details: the way things are finished or painted or milled. The attention to detail is off the charts.”
The man that would know these details best is Tuthill, one of the director’s of this collaborative project with Singer Design. He explains that the ACS is a commission from a long-term Singer client that wanted a rally car with the Singer touch. Singer then quickly contacted their friends over at Tuthill Porsche, whose lifeblood is rally Porsches. The result is the vehicle we see today.
While Tuthill has been building and working on rally Porsches for the better part of his life, he said that with this project it truly was bespoke. He states that “this is from scratch…there is was nothing to guide us.” Battle-proven Tuthill engineering with Singer’s legendary detail is without a doubt “a bloody good combo.”
Dream Rally Porsche Becomes Reality
It is no easy task to provide insane levels of reliability required as competition car while still being able to do just about anything on the road. Sometimes “you also just wanna hit big stuff!” Tuthill exclaims.
This Singer ACS will be a 911 to be remembered for the ages. It is a race car as much as it is art. While regular Singer design 911 usually cost about $500,000 to get started, Tuthill let us know that this one is “a bit more than that” and “will cost what it will cost.” Wow. We pray one day we can see this badass prototype make it to a proper rally stage.
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