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What have you been doing for the last 29 years?A few weeks ago, for the first time in nearly 30 years, I managed to catch up with an old friend and housemate of mine. Back in 1986 Rob Dickinson and I studied car design at, what was at the time, Coventry Polytechnic.
Despite his talent for sketching cars, Rob took the decision to quit his course and pursue a career in the music industry. Frankly I thought he was mad, because he was a damn good designer who could probably have ended up in the car company of his choice. But Rob knew different, and the result was a career in the US with the highly successful rock band Catherine Wheel.
A few weeks ago, for the first time in nearly 30 years, I managed to catch up with an old friend and housemate of mine. Back in 1986 Rob Dickinson and I studied car design at, what was at the time, Coventry Polytechnic.
Despite his talent for sketching cars, Rob took the decision to quit his course and pursue a career in the music industry. Frankly I thought he was mad, because he was a damn good designer who could probably have ended up in the car company of his choice. But Rob knew different, and the result was a career in the US with the highly successful rock band Catherine Wheel.
Since leaving Catherine Wheel in 2000, Rob went back to his roots and love for classic Porsche 911’s when he fully restored and re-conditioned a classic 1960’s 911. From that unique project Singer Vehicle Design (well known to many of you petrol heads!) was born, and Rob and his team have flourished ever since. I finally managed to catch up with Rob at a viewing in a studio in London, where we reminisced about old times and I got to see one of his unique creations up close.
When we met, Rob talked me through the tailored approach that he and his team take to every classic 911 that passes through the workshop, walking me around the current model that they had been working on. For every car they create the Singer team strip away almost every piece of the original model until only the bare bones and engine of the car remain. From here the team then completely re-style and re-build the car around the original vintage design, ensuring that the brakes, suspension, gearbox, engine and interior are either completely re-conditioned or expertly replaced. With complete respect and idolisation for the Porsche marque, Rob and his team use original Porsche parts and remove nearly 415lbs of weight to boost the performance of the car and give it an extra 100 horse power.
The result is a 911 that has all the styling and features of an original 911, but with the modern components and exciting driving experience of a contemporary model. You only have to visit the various websites and magazines or watch the TV to see the praise heaped on these beautiful machines. All I can say is that, after seeing his unique creations ‘in the flesh’, they looked even better than they do in the pictures.
It’s a shame that Athena are not around anymore to sell posters because alongside the picture of the tennis player scratching her bum and the red Countach, there would definitely be the one of the Porsche 911, re-imagined by Singer, in front of Tower Bridge. Nice one Rob!
If you’d like to see more about what Rob and the highly talented team at Singer do in their Los Angeles workshop, visit www.singervehicledesign.com.
