Singer 'Sorcerer' DLS Turbo here to blow minds
Singer always promised that turbocharging would take it to new places...
While it can be hard to keep track of what’s going on with restomod this and reimagination that, the announcement of Singer’s DLS Turbo project back in 2023 felt fairly seismic. Out went the delicately reworked Classic commissions, in was a 934/5-style take on the 964 with outrageous bodywork and even more OTT performance thanks to twin turbocharging. Now the first of those cars has been completed, and the reality might be even more gloriously crazy than hoped for...
This car, colloquially known as ‘Sorcerer’, is the first customer example of what’s officially termed the Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer - DLS Turbo. Just so we're on the same page. By mashing together the obsessive mass saving of the Williams-enhanced Dynamics and Lightweighting Study with the wallop of a force-fed flat six, the DLS Turbo promises a Singer experience like no other. They’re saying more than 700hp from the 3.8-litre flat six (which revs past nine still) and 553lb ft for this car which, despite the drastic modifications from a base 964, almost certainly still weighs less than a Carrera once did thanks to features like the carbon bodywork and ceramic brakes. So let’s call it the power of a new 911 Turbo, shoving along less weight than a 30-year-old 911 Turbo. With a six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive, and a titanium exhaust. The sorcerer is going to be a wild ride alright.
Managing that formidable power is a base 964 chassis that’s strengthened in the restoration process, double wishbones at the front like it’s a new GT3, monoblock calipers for those Brembo CCM-Rs, forged mag centrelocks and Michelin Cup 2s. Five drive modes for the DLS Turbo adjust the intervention of the traction and stability control. Maybe not period correct for a car first launched in 1989, if entirely appropriate given the performance now on offer.
In case it wasn’t clear already, the owner of this Fantasia Blue DLS Turbo opted for the ‘track-focused’ bodywork, which Singer offers alongside a more road-biased appearance. It means a rear spoiler just as ginormous (if not more so) than the original concept, a jutting front spoiler that’s going to give the nose lift a real workout, and carbon fibre just about everywhere. It’s a spectacular thing, even by Singer’s standards. And there’ll certainly be no mistaking it for just any other 911 backdate…
Personalisation, of course, has been a calling card of Singer Vehicle Design since the very beginning, with Sorcerer demonstrating what can now be achieved more than a decade and a half later. So it has hand-built gauges for the dash with Champagne bezels (like the wheels, see), ‘bringing high-watchmaking standards into the cabin’, with Pebble Grey leather on the seats, more carbon for the dash and a cross-brace behind the seats. The six-speed manual, with a raised shifter and exposed mechanism, is a work of art on its own. Lots of people make old cars into new ones these days, but there remains something very special about a Singer build.
Interestingly, the DLS Turbo cars are built at Singer’s UK facility rather than in California. Testing of the car, however, from ABS to variable geometry turbos, has taken place everywhere from Nardo to the Nurburgring across thousands of miles. Chief Strategy Officer Maz Fawaz has said that this car should be “as engaging to drive at 40mph as it is at 140mph”, so hopefully Sorcerer is used as intended over the years to come. Whatever else is in the garage, surely something like this is going to be pretty hard to resist.
Singer founder Rob Dickinson said: “With DLS Turbo we wanted to celebrate the 911’s evolution as an icon on both road and track and to explore the possibilities offered by turbocharging the remarkable engine developed through the DLS program. Each car is a collaboration with our clients around the world, and DLS Turbo services are our most ambitious yet, so seeing Sorcerer ready for its owner to drive is a very exciting moment for us and a fantastic way to start the year.”
There are 98 more commissions like this to follow across the globe, so expect to see one or two more stunners over the coming months. And finally, for those content with a mere naturally aspirated Singer, there are as many Classic and DLS commissions in the PH classifieds as there are GR86s - take your pick from £900,000….
I'd prefer a less blingy interior though.
Just give me a properly sorted 964 RS or Turbo instead (which I also can’t afford) and I’ll be a happy chappy
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