By 2021, it was starting to feel like we’d seen all there was to see when it came to restomod Porsche 911s There were million-dollar builds, track superstars, high-end hot rods and everything in between. When even Targas were getting the Fuchs wheels and nice suspension overhaul, there really didn't seem much else to do. But Singer Vehicle Design had other ideas.
The All-Terrain Competition Study was revealed in January 2021, just the sort of good news awesomeness to bring us from our collective festive slumber. A collaboration between Singer and Tuthill Porsche - a true dream team of classic Porsche brilliance - a pair of cars were made as part of a single commission. Intended to evoke the glory days of rallying 911s like the SC/RS (before Porsche made a 992 Dakar official), the two ACS cars were built with different terrains in mind. There was a Corsica Red car built with tarmac rallying as the goal, and then the Parallax White one presented to the world three and a half years ago. It was made with dune bashing and desert running in mind. It’s also now for sale - the actual car.
The specification was as high-end as we’ve come to expect from all Singer and Tuthill builds. Nothing was left to chance when it came to making the ultimate 911 rally homage. Though still with a 964 at its base (are there any left standard now?), the monocoque was strengthened, the dramatic new bodywork made from carbon fibre and a competition-spec roll cage installed. The dampers were five-way adjustable (!), with two units at each corner for ultimate rally car control; the gearbox was sequential, there were plated LSDs at both axles and in the centre and the handbrake was hydraulic. In fact, more than just a celebration of off-road 911s, the ACS was certified for competition - complete with a drinks system and GPS navigation.
It’s not clear whether this one has endured much rough and tumble since 2021; given the condition it’s now presented in, as well as the likely value, the life it’s led has surely been more sedate. Not that any of the driving it has been subjected to will have been anything of the kind; as well as the racing transmission, a Mezger turbo flat six was boosted to 450hp, which is going to make for a very potent Porsche with so much carbon in the construction and so little interior. Check out those original press pictures, too - in the right situation this is going to be epic fun.
As with the current Dakar, albeit with even more extreme possibilities, there’s scope for all sorts of adventure with the ACS. It would be kept purely for off-road use, as it was created and certified for; whether actually competing or just for fun, it’ll be mega. You’d have to hope it could be road registered as well, as there are still lights, wipers and so on. And even if not right now, people have made Zonda Rs road legal. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Perhaps it could even be made into a more tarmac-focused, track day kind of 911, like the red car. Tuthill will know all about it, of course. It could be all manner of things, while always being enormously entertaining and unique.
That latter status will count for a huge amount, of course. There were 450 Classic Study Singers made - the 964s we all think of as Singer restomods - before things went really crazy. When one of those is for sale, it tends to be around the million-pound mark. The ACS is more extreme, more advanced and a whole heap rarer; remember that just two were made for one person. We all like to say that you won’t see another of this or that spec, but here’s a genuine one-off build by two of the most respected names in making Porsches extraordinary. You’ll be Luftgekült royalty, the talk of Rennsport Reunion. Worth the millions on its own, surely, before even thinking about the fun behind the wheel.
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