Singer Forced to Sing New Tune at Porsche’s Behest
Reimagining 911s with the Porsche name was one thing. Singer slapping the name on its ACS was a bridge too far, though.
RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF. RUF. Singer. All tuners and builders who’ve taken the classic Porsche 911 into their hearts, each making it their own. For RUF, they’ve gone as far as to make the icon truly their own, no Porsche badges on any of their works. RWB, meanwhile, gives each 911 to come into Nakai-san’s view its own personality. And of course, Singer, founded English singer Rob Dickinson, reimagines old-school 911s into various “commissions,” as they are called, each one keeping the Porsche name with Stuttgart’s blessing.
Until now. Autoblog reports Porsche asked Singer to remove all references of the latter’s latest work, the ACS, after finding its name in places where it shouldn’t be.
Introduced in January, the ACS (All-Terrain Competition Study) was the result of a collaboration between Singer and Porsche rally specialist, Richard Tuthill, according to Carscoops. The retro-modern machine moves all of its wheels with the aid of a 450-horsepower, 3.6-liter flat-six. It also featured tons of Porsche branding, typeface and all, something Stuttgart hadn’t expected (or bestowed permission upon). Thus, Singer pulled down everything related to the ACS on its website and social media.
“We are glad to have a growing community of Porsche enthusiasts,” a Porsche rep told Carscoops. “They help us to ensure that so many Porsche cars originally built decades ago remain on the road and are still being enjoyed. At the same time, we have a responsibility to out customers to ensure that Porsche products – designed and engineered by us – can be clearly and easily identified.”
According to Autoblog, Singer likely overstepped when placing the Porsche name upon the retro-mod machine. In the past, Porsche asked the builder to brand their resto-mod works as “Porsches reimagined by Singer,” as they were no longer Stuttgart’s art to claim.
However, Porsche needed to protect its trademark, lest anyone else decides to step out of line. That said, it’s likely Singer and Stuttgart will come to terms. Then, if you’ve got the means, you can order an ACS for yourself.
Photos: Autoblog, Carscoops
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