{"id":1959199,"date":"2026-05-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1959199"},"modified":"2026-05-28T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T21:00:00","slug":"a-mullet-on-wheels-is-the-singer-dls-turbo-as-exciting-as-a-ferrari-f40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1959199","title":{"rendered":"‘A mullet on wheels’: is the Singer DLS Turbo as exciting as a Ferrari F40?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

There\u2019s a Porsche 911 under there. It\u2019s almost been consumed now, just the back bumper to go. And then, what? Well, we\u2019ll never know, because the metamorphosis is already complete. Just a little hint of 964 left poking out the back of a monstrous gaping mouth. A piggy\u2019s rump in the snake\u2019s distended jaws.<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll drive around like this as a reminder of what it once was. A humble little sports car with two doors and four seats that lived a life until one day someone got hold of this pleasant little air-cooled device and swallowed it (almost) whole. As an analogy to the restomod business, it\u2019s a pretty good one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

We know Singer\u2019s work, it\u2019s a master of the tasteful modification and restoration process, the gold standard to which all others must hold themselves. But this DLS Turbo tested us, didn\u2019t it? Oof, it caught some flak: \u2018the moment Singer jumped the shark\u2019 some said, \u2018too cartoonish\u2019 and \u2018comical\u2019 said others. That last one I can get on board with, and when I walk round it, it makes me snort at the sheer improbability of it. Looking at pictures I\u2019d thought it was a bit much, but out here the shapes, curves and lines resolve. It\u2019s curiously beguiling. And faithful.<\/p>\n

Photography: Greg Pajo<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The 934\/5 racer. It was dominant across 1977, a huge influence on Singer\u2019s founder and chief designer Rob Dickinson and therefore the starting point for the DLS Turbo. It follows on from the original Dynamics and Lightweighting Study, obviously, that a paean to natural aspiration and rear-engined driving dynamics, this to those bulging muscular \u201970s racers. I mean, you knew it was turbocharged just by looking at it, didn\u2019t you?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a mullet on wheels: business at the front, full width, wide body party at the back. Now, it\u2019s tempting to think that Singer is so fixated on cosmetics that everything else takes a back seat. To a certain extent that\u2019s true \u2013 the design comes first and dictates the engineering that follows. But the engineering is fabulously comprehensive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The 964\u2019s petite engine bay is packed out with the 3.8-litre flat six. There\u2019s still a fan to air cool the engine block and that block is still original. But the four valve heads are new and water cooled, there are oil coolers as well, radiators at the front and a pair of giant monoscroll turbos, each mounted low behind a 345-width barrel of a rear wheel, exhausts venting out the side. Air is pulled in from arches, rear windows and deck lid \u2013 it takes a lot to both stoke and cool 710bhp.<\/p>\n

But not visually represent it. Those haunches communicate everything and right now they dominate the little ducktail.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Tomorrow it\u2019ll be dressed in the giant loop rear wing for track work, but in most places that\u2019s not road legal as it projects out further than the rear bumper. About 75 per cent of owners are having both by the way. You just would.<\/p>\n

I approach it with a sense of trepidation. Old turbocharged 911s had a certain reputation when they had less than half this power, and no matter what Singer has done this has a short wheelbase, wide tracks and a rear end that looks like it wants to catch up with the front and duff it up. I hop in. The door clicks open and clacks closed just so and I find myself nestled low behind the familiar upright windscreen and five dial layout. It\u2019s simple in here, both in layout and trim design. Pared back for sportiness. A bit too pared back for me \u2013 I miss Singer\u2019s cabin artistry when it\u2019s not there.<\/p>\n

Twist the key to start. There\u2019s a sudden guttural, motorsport bark. It\u2019s deep, low.<\/p>\n

Unmistakably flat six, but the noise is somehow bigger, more menacing. What follows next will, you assume, be a challenge. And true enough, every control has heft and weight. But they\u2019re all in tune with each other. And they\u2019re all fabulously precise. I blip the throttle, revs soar and die in an instant.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an urgency to the way it gets moving, but most of all a sense of connection with the machine. This is nothing new to us, it\u2019s simply the advantage restomod firms have in updating old masterpieces. But those old masterpieces had slop and slack in them as well. This doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

A good original 964 has torsional rigidity of around 7000Nm per degree of twist. With the DLS that rose to 15,000Nm. Now it\u2019s 25,000Nm. The original chassis is still under there, but it\u2019s been reinforced, braced. There\u2019s a full roll cage tucked away, there\u2019s no luggage room under the nose as space has been donated to new damper turrets, an extensive strut brace and extra links. Reinforcement is everywhere. You might not see it, but you notice it.<\/p>\n

It means when I accelerate, there\u2019s no flex in the platform, no bucking from the suspension. I surf the torque and nothing\u2019s misdirected, it all goes into forcing the car down the road. Which is an addictive experience. Singer\u2019s stated aim was to try and recapture the excitement of the Ferrari F40. Job done, people.<\/p>\n

\n

Singer\u2019s stated aim was to try and recapture the excitement of the Ferrari F40. Job done<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s a level of intimidation here as the turbos spool and gust, and pressure builds in the car and your back and neck muscles, and your brain confirms that, yes, the DLS Turbo is bound to have more power than grip. However, let\u2019s manage any old school fire \u2019n\u2019 fury expectations here.<\/p>\n

This engine has near faultless manners. The throttle response is beautiful, so there\u2019s real pleasure in just rolling on and off the throttle on light openings, and the ramp into the boost is super smooth \u2013 no lag to speak of, just effortless linear thrust that builds and builds and… ooh, public road.<\/p>\n

Driving it along Ojai Canyon is so satisfying. It\u2019s quiet up here, the weather is bright, there\u2019s no rush and the DLS Turbo isn\u2019t histrionic. It\u2019s happy to just spring between corners in third and fourth, surfing the torque. But it is a short, wide car with trailing arm rear suspension and it will twitch if you back off mid-corner. So it should. But it rides expensively on its adjustable Exe-TC dampers, tracks true and feels together.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The only thing I wish for is better rear visibility. The roll cage blocks the view out the back (this is a late prototype car and apparently that\u2019s being changed for production) and the tiny side mirrors don\u2019t do much more than remind you there\u2019s a lot of width back there.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Important to remember that actually. You don\u2019t want to get too greedy with an apex only to find the rear wheel is now steamrollering a rocky verge. Before I get that wrong, and while I\u2019ve still got fuel in the tank, I turn round and head back towards LA.<\/p>\n

Singer\u2019s facility in Torrance is quiet this evening. The traffic round here is so bad that shifts start early and finish early to help the 450 staff dodge the worst of it. I\u2019m back here for the wing switch over \u2013 and while the body panels are off, a good prod about underneath.<\/p>\n

It takes two people over an hour to switch road parts for race. Exchanging the front bumper necessitates the removal of the front wheelarch liners, and you\u2019re not going to be lifting that loop spoiler by yourself.<\/p>\n

Opt for both panel sets (a $175,000\/\u00a3131,000 option) and the spares come in giant flight cases. There\u2019s a third flight case if you want the other wheels. Might as well, eh? Average spend on a DLS Turbo is around $2.9 million (\u00a32.15 million) \u2013 Singer doesn\u2019t quote a base price as everyone goes wild with bespokery. The DLS Turbos aren\u2019t built out here though, but at Singer\u2019s other facility near Daventry in the UK. That\u2019s where the engineering is done as well.<\/p>\n

Not enough of the car is removed for me to see much underneath, but there\u2019s a lot to talk about. As well as the chassis, everything else had to be uprated from the DLS to deal with the torque and grip the Turbo is capable of generating. The Sachs clutch can cope with 960lb ft, the six-speed manual is now from Ricardo rather than Hewland, there\u2019s more assistance in the steering and more weight overall.<\/p>\n

And that weight, like the visual balance, is focused on the rear \u2013 62 per cent of it sits on the back axle.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Singer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The next day I\u2019m at Willow Springs racetrack. Singer, together with a development partner, bought the circuit last year \u2013 that\u2019s right, Singer is now at the \u2018branching out into other areas\u2019 stage. It\u2019s new territory. The track has already felt the benefits \u2013 new surfaces, barriers and runoff. But no drainage.<\/p>\n

Not usually an issue out in the desert north of LA, but the locals are in a flat spin about the rain. Tractors have been employed to bulldoze the water. Some are fitted with jet blowers. If we were at Anglesey I\u2019d be describing conditions as \u2018standard\u2019.<\/p>\n

Patchy, puddled, blustery conditions are revealing. The DLS Turbo\u2019s fat Cup 2s do their best but standing water detaches rubber from road, magnifying boost, wheelspin and handling traits \u2013 and their various consequences. But I can change this. There\u2019s a five mode traction and stability system from Bosch. And it\u2019s brilliant.<\/p>\n

In Weather mode I can drive around and there\u2019s not a trace of wriggle \u2013 the car seems able to read the surface better than I can. As conditions improve during the day I ramp it up through Normal, Sport and Track and it gives me more leeway. It\u2019s not quite as uncanny as Ferrari and McLaren\u2019s drift control systems, but for a restorer of old Porsches to have a safety net this sophisticated is stunning.<\/p>\n

\n

The car seems able to read the surface better than I can<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I end up turning it off of course. Just to get a better sense of its on limit behaviour. It\u2019s all about managing the light nose. Get greedy with speed on the way in and the front end will push past the apex. Get back on the power while carrying too much lock and you\u2019re into understeer. Try to push past that with power alone and you\u2019ll probably eventually succeed, but you won\u2019t be in a happy place, instead a world of scrappy, sudden oversteer.<\/p>\n

Instead go in deep on the magnificent brakes (Brembo\u2019s top line carbon ceramics) to keep the nose loaded, get everything pointed in the right direction and then sit back and enjoy take off.<\/p>\n

But contained in that process of cornering is so much satisfaction and communication. From the floor-hinged pedals and rev-blip downshifts to the weighty steering, barking flat six and considerable weight transfer, this is a car that both engages and challenges.<\/p>\n

No shortcuts, you\u2019ve got to learn it. There might be a level of finesse and capability here that\u2019s alien to a 35-year-old Porsche, but this is still not as clean, direct, forgiving and effortlessly fast as a modern supercar.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Singer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Good. It\u2019s dirtier than that, thickly coated with attitude and smeared with charisma. The engine snarls, turbos whoosh, rear axle squats, nose rises, steering chatters and round I go for lap after lap. I\u2019m only removed from my reverie when the fuel light comes on. The regular DLS is light, supple, rev hungry and intoxicating. I feared this might be a blunt instrument. And yes, it\u2019s rolling thunder, heavier in my hands, more muscular and boisterous, more of a route one performer.<\/p>\n

But the rewards, not least that slingshot thrust, are just as great. It\u2019s addictive, I crave just one more hit of turbo, to feel that tension as torque twists tarmac and I brace for boost.<\/p>\n

But I also know the truth \u2013 those powerlifter haunches and that loopy rear wing flatter to deceive. The DLS Turbo is just a big, friendly monster.<\/p>\n

Singer’s DLS Turbo<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Price:<\/strong> $2.9million (\u00a32.15 million)
Powertrain: <\/strong>3.8-litre twin turbo flat six, 710bhp, 553lb ft
Transmission: <\/strong>6spd man, RWD
Performance: <\/strong>0\u201362mph in N\/A, 200mph+ (geared for 218mph)
Weight: <\/strong>1,450kg (with fluids)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a Porsche 911 under there. It\u2019s almost been consumed now, just the back bumper to go. And then, what? Well, we\u2019ll never know, because the metamorphosis is already complete. Just a little hint of 964 left poking out the back of a monstrous gaping mouth. A piggy\u2019s rump in the snake\u2019s distended jaws. It\u2019ll […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-1959199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1959199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1959199\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1959199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1959199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1959199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}