On Tuesday morning, Singer Vehicle Design finally unveiled a project it has been working on for quite some time. One of its long-term clients tasked the company with building the ultimate blend of Porsche’s rallying heritage in the most extreme way. Take one part 911 SC/RS, one part Dakar-conquering 959, and one part Singer magic, and this is what you come up with; the 964-chassis-based All-Terrain Competition Study. And what a wonderful piece of kit it is. Engineered in partnership with 911 rally specialist Richard Tuthill in the UK, the ACS features a 450-horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter aircooled flat-six engine, full-time four-wheel drive, a competition sequential gearbox, and enough tire and suspension travel to tackle events like the Baja 1000 and Dakar rally.
The world of Safari Porsches just sat up and took notice of this next-level machine. Nothing else even comes close.
The client in question commissioned two of these cars be built, one in Singer’s Parallax White and the other in Corsica Red. The white car shown here has been configured for high-speed desert rallying. The red car will be built specifically for high-grip tarmac rally and hillclimb events. Between Tuthill’s extensive rally-winning experience and Singer’s every little thing matters ethos, you can bet that these cars will turn out to be as good as they look. It does what it says on the tin.
Starting with an original 1990 Porsche 964 chassis, pretty much every component has been re-engineered for strength and speed in all ludicrous conditions. That chassis has been significantly strengthened and fitted with lightweight carbon fiber bodywork unique to the ACS. Here’s the full specification for the car direct from Singer.
Suspension, wheels and brakes
– Specialised long-travel suspension with twin, 5-way adjustable dampers per corner
– (8 dampers total).
– Forged aluminium 8×16” wheels with BF Goodrich All-Terrain tyres.
– 4-piston, monobloc steel disc brakes with hydraulic handbrake.
Engine
– 3.6L twin turbo-charged, air-cooled, Porsche flat-six.
– Water-to-air intercoolers, with individual-bank charge coolers housed within the plenum and cooled by clamshell-mounted radiator.
– Tuned for the demands of each event, power starts at 450hp and 420lb ft torque
– 5-speed sequential dog-box enabling flat-shifting. Manual and paddle-shift capable.
– Permanent AWD.
– Front, centre and rear, mechanical, plated limited-slip differentials.
Additional Specialised Equipment:
– Long-range fuel tank.
– 2 x full-size spare race wheels and tyres in front trunk area and rear storage area.
– Full FIA specification roll cage.
– Bespoke competition seats with FIA certification
– Rehydration system for driver and navigator
– State-of-the-art GPS race navigation system.
Rob Dickinson, Founder and Executive Chairman, Singer Group Inc.
“So much of what we’ve done for the last decade has been inspired by Porsche’s competition success and the All-terrain Competition Study provides us the opportunity to showcase that idea literally and vividly. We at Singer are motorsport nerds in our hearts and demonstrating our understanding of the discipline required our off-road vision to display deeply legitimate competition credentials from the structural engineering, to the bodywork ethos, to the mechanical package.We’ve taken particular inspiration from the iconic Rothmans-sponsored 911 SC/RSs and 959s that conquered events like the Qatar International Rally and Paris-Dakar in the mid-‘80s and, at the request of our client, have reimagined these all-terrain 911’s in their honor while utilizing fresh perspectives and state of the art know-how.
As is our habit we chose to tackle our subject thoroughly and we are proud to have found the best in the world – always our ambition – to help us reach our goals. Like Williams Advanced Engineering before them with the Dynamics & Lightweighting Study, Richard Tuthill and his incredible team have allowed us to bring our vision for the All-terrain Competition Study to life in the most spectacular way.
We feel confident this machine can appeal to off-roading enthusiasm of all kinds, whether it be in the pursuit of professional competition at the highest level or adventure and exploration. ACS advances Singer’s capabilities in forced-induction, all-wheel drive, off-road ability and dynamic response – all of which will support our ongoing mission. This pursuit of focused competition studies is something you will see more of from us in the future.”
Richard Tuthill
“This collaboration brings together the best of innovation, cutting-edge technology and decades of real rallying experience into one, amazingly capable, all-terrain off-road racing vehicle. In the 1980s we partnered with Prodrive to prepare bodyshells for the Rothmans 911 SC/RS that was part of the inspiration for ACS. I am delighted to have now partnered with Rob and the team at Singer to bring this incredible machine to life and look forward to working with them in the future. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved.”Mazen Fawaz, CEO, Singer Group Inc.
“Desert racing has got under our skin at Singer. I tested and ran a Trophy Truck with Jenson Button’s Rocket Motorsport in 2019 and we’ll be back in the truck for 3 events in 2021, so I know from personal experience exactly how demanding these events are. It’s been great to work with Richard, who has run the Baja 1000 himself, as well as a vast array of other off-road competitions, and apply all that knowledge and experience to this restoration for our client.”