The international restomod scene is thriving as people seek modern touches in their classic cars, but one of its most recognisable names is Singer. Founded in 2009 by former Catherine Wheel vocalist Rob Dickinson, Singer Vehicle Design has become synonymous with reimagined Porsche 911s.
Based in Los Angeles, Dickinson has created a business that goes beyond the simple definition of a restomod, a car that is “restored” and “modified”. It’s a term he is not a fan of, nor for that matter are many other businesses in the same space. Instead, he insists that Singer “reimagines” the iconic Porsche 911.
“Singer wasn’t created from a business plan, it started because I had a vision for a particular car, I was utterly obsessed with it and I just had to make that vision a reality,” said Dickinson. “It was a very personal pursuit and I couldn’t really have imagined where that would take me when I started.”
That pursuit has taken him and his team to a place previously reserved for the world’s greatest car makers and legends of motorsport: the Goodwood Festival of Speed. In 2026, Singer will become the first non-original automaker to feature in the famous central sculpture as the theme of the event. It’s the culmination of a lifelong obsession for Dickinson.
“I’ve been obsessed with the 911 since I first saw one as a child on holiday with my parents in the south of France,” he said. “We started with a celebration of the F-model cars of the 1960s and early ‘70s, through to our Classic and DLS services. Most recently the 911 Carrera Coupe and Carrera Cabriolet Reimagined by Singer celebrate the 911 as it was in the 1980s.”
It’s a journey that has led to some strong partnerships, including Red Bull Advanced Technologies and RM Sotheby’s, but what is it that has placed Singer at the forefront of reimagining classic cars?
“Late one night in the early days of Singer I scrawled Everything is Important, on the wall of the workshop, using a can of spray paint,” he said. “It was a reminder to the tiny team we had back then and it has become a mantra for us, guiding how we approach our work.”
Today that team is more than 700 strong, with agents across the world and a strong following among collectors and enthusiasts, but the focus hasn’t changed.
“At its heart Singer is a philosophy,” he said. “We choose our subject matter and then we pursue a definitive vision without compromise. The first subject for that philosophy has been the classic Porsche 911.”
Does this mean Dickinson would look at other models beyond the 911? “There are fantastic Porsche sports cars beyond the 911 of course,” he said. “The reason for Singer to approach any other model would be that we feel we could do justice to a reimagining of that car [but] right now our focus remains the 911.”
From electronic driving aids to audio systems and even electrification, there are many things happening in the scene right now, but are there any trends that Dickinson and his team think will shape the direction for the market?
“I think the minute we start thinking about trends, we’re lost,” he said. “Singer isn’t driven by focus groups. Our chief strategy officer, Mazen Fawaz, has been my business partner for many years and the cars we pursue are ones that he and I would be desperate to own ourselves. The car has to make us obsessed and then it must be executed at the correct, fanatical level. The way it goes down the road is every bit as important as the way it looks, but the combination has to make you want to own it very badly. Getting that right is the only thing we care about.”
That could well be a view echoed by many of Singer’s rivals, but of course they aren’t all focused on the Porsche 911. There are brands that restore and modify the Land Rover Defender, Jaguar E-Type and even Rolls-Royce models, but while the 911 is the benchmark in the scene right now, does he see any cars of today becoming the desirable restomods in decades to come?
“I think if you apply the right philosophy to any of the accepted icons of the golden era something good would emerge from it,” he says. “If you’re willing to go through the pain to do things correctly, the result will be special.”
For Dickinson, doing things correctly clearly borders on obsession, even going beyond it, reimagining every element of an icon with its engine, pistons and manual transmission, creating something that stirs emotion in design, sound and a definitive driving experience. While he wouldn’t divulge any plans for Goodwood, it’s exciting to hear him say that there’s no shortage of ideas for the coming years. Singer might have been around since 2009, but in his words; “we’re just getting started.”
