Singer And Williams Collab To Create Ultimate Lightweight Porsche 911
In what is likely the greatest collab since Run DMC & Aerosmith, Singer Design has teamed up with Williams (like, the F1 Williams) to produce a 911 that could potentially go down as one of the greatest ever made.
Dubbed the “DLS” or “Dynamic Lightweighting Study”, this 1990 air-cooled Porsche 911 was designed to be the most advanced bespoke 911 ever built. By the way, I didn’t know “lightweighting” was a word, did you? Anyway…
As you might have guessed, the engine was designed by Williams Advanced Engineering from the ground up. As I mentioned before it is an air-cooled mill with 4.0 liters of displacement.
It has 4 titanium valves per cylinder as well as various other bits and bobs made from magnesium and other lightweight materials to further reduce weight.
In total the 4.0 liter flat six makes 500 horsepower at a screaming 9,000 RPMs.
To make the DLS 911 more efficient, the entire surface of the car was “re-assessed” with the help of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) which is the same technique used by F1 aerodynamicists when designing their cars to be as aerodynamically efficient as possible.
The assessment resulted in the DLS receiving a modified front oil cooler intake and venting which eliminates front axel lift, an optimized duckbill spoiler, a roof channel, and rear window channel/spoiler which both increase rear downforce, and optimized ram air side window intakes.
During William’s study, they focused on making the chassis more torsionaly rigid and balanced.
This meant every body panel would be made from carbon fiber (which is nothing new for a Singer Porsche) and certain components were re-located for better weight distribution.
For example the engine was moved forward from its traditional mounting points and certain engine components were re-located to the front trunk.
Bosch joined in to create a custom ECU solution which includes ABS, traction control, and electronic stability control all of which were specifically calibrated for this particular vehicle.
The custom ECU additionally provides the options of several driving modes which allow the traction control and stability control to be turned off.
The suspension is a custom Williams designed set up with a multi link double wishbone front suspension and lightweight aluminum rear suspension arms.
The six-speed gearbox is from Hewland and uses magnesium casings and hollow shafts for further weight reduction. Stopping power comes from the obligatory Brembo carbon ceramic set up.
For the wheels Williams collab’d with BBS to create a set of forged magnesium center lock 18 inch rollers wrapped in bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires.
I’m not sure how much those wheels weigh but I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that they are pretty damn light.
As you may have guessed with this being a Singer vehicle, all of that advanced engineering is wrapped in magnificent aesthetics inside and out.
The car is sprayed with a beautiful “battleship grey” paint job and the interior is set up like a vintage Porsche art gallery.
The magnesium shift linkage is practically “displayed” in a raised carbon fiber shifter set up and the gauges in the carbon fiber dashboard look like they were made by German watch makers.
I haven’t seen this thing in person but I’m fairly certain these pictures don’t do the car justice.
It’s currently on display right now at the Goodwood Festival Of Speed and rumor has it that 75 examples will be made and its highly likely that each one of them is already spoken for by some oil magnate or millennial bitcoin billionaire.
Why the hell didn’t I get into bitcoin back when it was only 8 cents?! Ugh, anyway, if you want to see more of this car (and trust me you do) just click on any of the thumbnails above or in the gallery below.
For more info and specs check out the press release below as well.
Gallery:
Press Release:
DYNAMICS AND LIGHTWEIGHTING STUDY REVEALED AT
GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED —
‘DLS’ UNDERTAKEN BY SINGER VEHICLE DESIGN
WITH WILLIAMS ADVANCED ENGINEERING AND OTHER PARTNERS
A Relentless Pursuit of Excellence through a Lightweight Philosophy
• Festival of Speed sees the results of the Dynamics and Lightweighting Study on display for the first time.
• One car will run in the hillclimb event while a second DLS restoration, accompanied by six further Porsche 911s Reimagined by Singer Vehicle Design, will be displayed outside Goodwood House
GROVE, United Kingdom, July12, 2018 – The results of California-based boutique restoration house Singer Vehicle Design’s Dynamics and Lightweighting Study (DLS) will be shown at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, July 12-15, in West Sussex, England. DLS is a client-inspired collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering — part of the Williams Grand Prix Engineering Group — and a formation of technical partners, in pursuit of the most advanced air-cooled Porsche 911 in the world. The unique and highly anticipated results will be part of both a static showcase outside Goodwood House and the Michelin Supercar Paddock Hillclimb Run.
As announced in November 2017, the project began when Singer client and Porsche enthusiast Scott Blattner, requested lightweighting and high-performance enhancements for his 1990 Porsche 964. To meet the goals defined in collaboration with Scott, Singer engaged Williams and globally-renowned technical partners to engineer a selection of restoration and modification services strongly oriented toward lightweighting and dynamic gains.
For those unable to be at Goodwood, DLS will travel to the US to be at Monterey Car Week beginning August 23.
Goodwood House Display
• 1990 Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Dynamics and Lightweighting Study.
In Parallax White with Norfolk Yellow interior
Michelin Supercar Paddock
• 1989 Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer – Dynamics and Lightweighting Study
In Heart Attack Red with Black interior
Details for Dynamics and Lightweighting Study
Advanced Air-cooled Engine Development
Partner: Williams Advanced Engineering
A normally aspirated, air-cooled Porsche flat-six, developed by Williams Advanced Engineering with technical advice and consultancy from Hans Mezger.
• 4.0 litre displacement, titanium valves, 4 per cylinder, dual overhead cams, 500 hp @ 9,000 rpm
• Extensive use of magnesium and lightweight materials to reduce mass
• Lightweight throttle bodies with F1-inspired upper and lower injectors to enhance performance and drivability
• Unique and optimized oiling system to improve lubrication and cooling
Advanced Aerodynamics
Partners: Williams Advanced Engineering with technical advice and consultancy from Norbert Singer
• Every surface on the car re-assessed through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis
• Elimination of front axle lift through redesign of front oil-cooler intake and venting, together with new front splitter
• Optimization of one of the most iconic aerodynamic devices of the twentieth century – the ducktail spoiler.
• Roof-channel and roof/rear window spoiler working with optimized ducktail and diffuser to generate downforce at rear
• Optimization of engine intake and cooling performance through side-window ram-air intakes and rear deck-lid venting.
Mass Efficiency and Core Optimization
Partners: Williams Advanced Engineering & RLE
• Full weight-down study by Williams Advanced Engineering
• Focus on torsional stiffness, mass efficiency and driver environment
• Mass relocation for optimized chassis balance via moving engine forward and component reallocation to front trunk area
• Full carbon fibre bodywork, every panel unique to DLS
Advanced Control Systems
Partner: Bosch
• ABS, traction control and electronic stability control (ESC) systems specifically calibrated for DLS by Bosch
• Switchable driving modes including the option for traction control and stability systems to be turned off
Suspension
Partner: Williams Advanced Engineering
• Lightweight multi-link, double wishbone, front suspension
• Lightweight, aluminium, rear trailing arm, with integral brake cooling
• Bespoke mass-optimized dampers with remote adjustment
Transmission and Driveline
Partner: Hewland
• Bespoke, 6-speed gearbox, using magnesium casings with hollow shafts for maximum reduction of rotating mass
• Reduced length to reposition engine forward for optimized weight distribution
• Use of motorsport-style tripod joints, centre-lock wheel carriers and modern materials
Brakes
Partner: Brembo
• Latest technology CCM-R carbon ceramic high performance, lightweight discs for both road and track use
• Lightweight, monobloc calipers, developed for the study
Tires
Partner: Michelin
• Bespoke-sized Pilot Sport Cup 2s developed by Michelin’s Development and Manufacturing team in Greenville, South Carolina.
• Bi-Compound asymmetric design, and Variable Contact Patch 3.0 technology
• Front: 245 / 35 / 18
• Rear: 295 / 30 / 18
Wheels
Partners: BBS Motorsport and Williams Advanced Engineering
• Lightweight 18” forged magnesium, monobloc, centre-lock wheels developed for the study by BBS Motorsport
• High strength aluminium and titanium centre-lock mechanism developed by Williams Advanced Engineering
Advanced Lightweight Seating
Partner: Recaro
• Lightweight carbon fibre sports seats specially designed with Recaro for DLS
Steering
Partner: MOMO
• Lightweight carbon-fibre steering wheel specially developed by Momo for DLS.
Interior
• Raised, manual gear-shift with exposed titanium and magnesium linkage and shift lights integrated in the tachometer
• Drilled carbon and titanium pedals
• Lightweight air-conditioning and heating system
• Instrument gauges with hand-applied characters, floating in a carbon fibre instrument panel