Collectors of pretty much anything often bring up the hypothetical question: “If you could only have one [said collectible] for the rest of your life, what would it be?” Typically, the collector will nervously attempt to laugh it off; it’s unfair, unrealistic or just not possible to answer.

I may be one of those people when it comes to picking the single watch that would make the cut, audibly groaning at the thought of how impossible the choice is. When it comes to cars, though, I have a firm answer ready to go. If I could only have one car for the rest of my life? It would be my Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer.

For those who may be wondering who, or what Singer is, here’s the lowdown. Singer Vehicle Design is an extremely detail-oriented design and restoration company located in the Los Angeles area (Sun Valley, originally, and currently Torrance) started by former rockstar Rob Dickinson of Catherine Wheel (yes, it’s punny).

Dickinson’s personal 1969 911 was known as the Brown Bomber, a Bahama Yellow “Restomod” or outlaw-vibe car that many had tried to buy from him to no avail — until Rob finally said he’d be willing to build them one instead. Circa 2009, Dickinson set out to create the “perfect” air-cooled Porsche 911, combining both the aesthetic and dynamic attributes of 911s over time in one cohesive, understated yet absolutely stunningly designed car. He settled on using the 964 as a base to create the bespoke and utterly absurd carbon fiber body 911s he would become famous for, and that’s still what’s used today.

With his friend and business partner (now CEO) Mazen Fawaz and Tim Gregorio (Singer’s first employee), Rob wouldn’t have guessed at the time that, in doing this, they would end up creating an entire new market within the Porsche world. It set them on a path to where they are now: making some of the best-driving (to me), most beautiful 911s for many of the world’s most discerning collectors and drivers.

Auto attraction

My story with Singer started in 2016 when one of their builds named the Philadelphia Commission became available for sale locally at a specialty Porsche dealer. I had known about Singer and heard the lore around them amongst my Porsche collecting groups but, with the price tag and wait-time, I never thought about commissioning a build myself. But this was a unique chance to see one up close and personal.

At the dealer the next day, I was transfixed. Featuring a stunning Blue Blood exterior and caramel interior, I had a hunch that it drove even better than it looked. It didn’t take more than five minutes for me to fall hopelessly in love with the driving experience.

It was a unique mixture of new-school and old-school Porsche in one package, perfectly analog with a touch of modern mechanical flair. I was hooked hard. After a night of contemplation (involving a couple extra drinks and telling myself to not be a pansy, that it had to be worth it), I committed to the car the very next day. Seemingly moments after completing the paperwork, Tim Gregorio from Singer called me to say “welcome to the family.” Little did I know that it would be the start of the most incredible adventure, and one that I would continue to enjoy today. I agreed to send the Philadelphia Commission back to Singer in Sun Valley, CA, for a host of upgrades that had become available. I arranged to pick up the car at Monterey Car Week in 2017, all finished up and with an upgraded 3.8L motor. When I did, I was sure it just couldn’t get better than this.

The last day of Car Week, Singer had a private track day at Laguna Seca Raceway (now WeatherTech Raceway) to give our cars the full run-through and see what they were capable of. I had really thought the car was more built for a nice winding road than a circuit, but I couldn’t have been more wrong: it was brilliant on the track.

The involvement in building my dream 911 made me fall in love in a way I never had before with a car.

In Porsche-speak, I would describe the experience of driving a Singer Classic on track as a mix between a Porsche 964 RS, a 996 Cup and a 997 RS all in one, yet more thrilling and emotive at lower speeds than each of them on their own. And with such sweet sounds bellowing out of the twin- centered exhausts, even the idea of heaven doesn’t sound as sweet.

When I came back into the pits after running countless laps in the Philadelphia Commission, the CEO at the time, Alex, insisted I take out a new demo car with a 4.0L motor they had just developed. Even though I was in love with my 3.8L motor, I figured “what’s the harm?”

Well, halfway down pit lane to pit exit with Alex in the passenger seat, instantly feeling the huge amount of additional torque and overall anger from the 4.0L motor … I started cursing. Alex looked over and asked what was wrong. I told him: it was absolutely another league of wow. I proceeded, on the spot, to figure out the details of trading the Philly car for a new build slot to design the perfect Singer Classic Commission to my own spec.

Bespoke through and through

While the Singer Classic’s dynamic attributes are the most impressive aspect of the Singer experience for me, the speccing and involvement in building my dream 911 is what made me fall in love in a way I never had before with a car. Between the paints, fabrics, leathers, bodywork, engine characteristics and weight savings adjustments, it damn well feels like the choices are limitless.

For those who want a little (or a lot) of help managing all of those choices, Singer provides one of their stellar in-house designers (shoutout to Isaac McBride, in my case) to help you through the process and provide renderings and suggestions along the way. The best part? You can go as mild to as wild as you want to with a build. You can even employ the use of a Special Wishes division, which was what I did for my Classic commission “Sine Qua Non,” Latin for “Without Which, Not”: the name is a play on Rob Dickinson’s motto “Everything Is Important,” which is scribbled in each of the brand’s facilities both past and present and highlights the importance of details in each build.

I wanted to do something different, but in a way that would only be apparent in those special details. I ended up creating my own paint with the team, an extremely dark blue we called “Ink” that appears black in many lights and gives the car two different looks depending on the time of day.

Next, instead of the bright nickel trim that Singer was known for, I wanted to make its appearance darker. But I didn’t want to simply paint it black, as the nickel’s unique texture is such an integral part of the Classic’s style. Yet, after what had to be 20 variations, none really satisfied what I had envisioned.

I had build a story with the car even before driving it the first time.

I then suggested we look to the horological world for a solution and try diamond-like carbon (DLC) for the coating, as it would retain the components’ texture and offer corrosion resistance — an issue with the original nickel finish on early builds when introduced to moisture. The result of the DLC process was stunning. We were able to give it a light tint of brown to bring the dark gunmetal color into the espresso interior and tie everything together.

It took a few years to build the Sine Qua Non. Through many drives (in their demo car), events, and time with everyone at the shop — at the end of the process, I had a 911 with which I had built a story with even before driving it for the first time. That made it all the more special when I finally did.

I still remember the day I went to pick up the car from their finishing shop and take it to a Porsche show in Pasadena. Seeing the inky blue paint in the sun, with the gold Minilite wheels popping out of each corner was the definition of love at first sight. Even after seeing the build through every stage, there’s nothing like seeing the final product.

Getting in, starting up the 4.0L engine and sitting there for a few minutes to take it all in, I knew this was “the one.” Then, from that first time I depressed the clutch, slipped the G50 transmission into first gear, gave a little gas and headed out onto the road, until now having nearly 5,500 miles and over 1,000 track miles in it — I’m still as in love with the Singer as ever. Meanwhile, I’m looking to start this journey again with Singer Vehicle Design in commissioning a Turbo model. As much as the car itself, I look forward to every bit of the process.