Singer Factory Tour: How The Most Beautiful Porsches In The World Are Restored | Top Gear

Singer has come a long way since its founder Rob Dickinson started turning Porsche 964s into four-wheeled jewellery 12 years ago. But with overwhelming demand from people who want a brand new, old 911 (the waiting list for a car is now four years) it’s outgrown its premises. Which means Singer needs a bigger one. Which it now has: a mega new facility in Torrance, California to hold all of its operations under one roof. And what a place it is. So please slacken your jaw and allow Top Gear Magazine’s Ollie Marriage and Singer Vehicle Design’s CEO Mazen Fawaz to be your guide.

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00:00 Intro
00:52 The new factory
02:49 Spare & new parts
04:01 Paint shop
05:43 New interiors
07:39 General assembly
09:10 Finishing touches
10:36 The future of singer

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[bambooshot]

It's so weird, I remember Chris Harris visiting Singer 9 years ago when they had a small "garage-like" shop and a tiny office. Amazing progress in a decade!

[lucasmoreno]

“Sales are not a problem”
That’s the position we all dream to be in

[ryanhoffmann]

Singer is a shining light for American automotive production. They are truly on another level.

[coreytrevor]

What I find interesting is Rob knows how valuable each team member is. He could easily say "they are this good because of MY process and procedure" but he doesn't. He proudly says "They are true craftsman's and they are always improving." Rob built a roster of truly passionate Porsche builders. He is able to do all that because he lets the employees do what they are good at.

[CanadianPetrolHead]

My 3 year old daughter and I were watching this video and I asked her if she liked the cars she was seeing. She said yes. I asked if one day she’ll bring papa on a ride in one of these cars. She said yes. Then she asked “papa, is this Santa’s workshop?”

[GTSCarLife]

I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Rob Dickinson several years back, in Colorado Springs. Rob is as genuine and friendly as his cars are magnificent. It is apparent Mr. Fawaz is also living his dream. I cannot imagine a more magical company than Singer. I only wish I would have ordered one back when they were "affordable!" Great video, Ollie!

[jryalls]

Great stuff Top Gear. Really top quality content recently.

[eluv]

I truly believe they make the best looking new/ retro cars. I would be afraid to drive those. Works of art.

[pamasik]

Both cars and the factory are a work of art!

[occultustactical]

What impresses me the most is all of the spectacular colors they have. That red, almost fire engine, and that blue at 5:37... wow that’s gorgeous. Kudos to Singer for their absolute dedication to keeping these older Porsche’s on the road. The cool part is the future buyers don’t care what the price is, there no haggling when you go the point where you’re weaving leather seats.

[bicyclist]

The sheer amount of beautiful Porsche's is just stunning. I'm absolutely gobsmacked. This is Porsche 911 heaven. I have a uncle in Santa Barbra California with a 70's 911 targa. I got to ride in it back in the 80's. It's so great to see the customers ordering cars in bold beautiful colors. There's way too many black, white and gray/silver cars out these days. I hope to be able to get a Singer targa some day. I was hoping to see Rob Dickenson the founder of Singer being interviewed. I've seen a few videos of the Singer workshop over the years, but this is the first time I've seen this new factory. This kind of reminds me of RUF. Only RUF has there own chassis and components. Thank you.

[SkotiM]

Seeing people take such pride in their work and seeing the results is amazing.

[brianmessemer]

3:50 "Bushings, bearings, fasteners..." PRECISELY timed with three hammer strokes (or staple gun, something like that) in the background. Exactly synchronized! Anyone catch that? Have to say though, I'm impressed with Mazen Fawaz. He's clearly intelligent, very knowledgeable and refreshingly direct and honest as he gave the tour. I'm also impressed with the straight to the point approach by the presenter and by Top Gear. No fluff, packed with information, great editing, enthusiastic presenter. Well done!

[colin]

Nope. At one point yes, but not any more. I’d rather a RUF. Not so long ago you could spend up to half a million dollars on a Singer, now they start at well over that. Or they would if you could still order a naturally aspirated coupe. The DLS showed them that price was immaterial and that they could put as many zeros as they liked on a car and still have a queue. So it’s 7 figure Turbos now and they’re starting to feel a bit less cool driver’s car and more cars and coffee collectible. RUF are just doing what they’ve always done - focused on velocity rather than vanity and they now cost about the same as a Singer, but come with a carbon monocoque. I do well enough that I thought I might be able to save for a Singer in a year or two but now there’s just no way. Gorgeous, but just too much money for a 400 bhp trinket.

[jtex]

I remember years ago - prior even to the Harris/Singer video - seeing a video of Mazen driving his young son around in a 911. The young boy counts down from 3, if I recall; Mazen takes off; kid giggles (adorably) at the experience. It was the first time I ever wanted a 911 for the explicit purpose of sharing the experience with my children. Fantastic video here. Could not be more happy for the Singer guys.

[anasamla]

The ceo is like a child-hearted whole person. Can we start it? Shrugs it off like why not with extreme excitement 🤣. You can he finds the prosperity of singers success the biggest blessing he's had in life.

[albertoalvarez]

Never knew there was such a fan base for the 911. All these companies that restore them have something unique to bring.

[urgetodrive]

I was fortunate enough to visit the original Singer location and the new factory is a massive upgrade. Let me be frank, the prior location was not just unimpressive - it was a dump. Cramped, dim, disorganized, and thoroughly un-modern are probably the kindest words I can find to describe it. You could hardly believe the level of bespoke craftsmanship was being done in such an environment.

[markdance]

With such a big customer base I really wonder why there are not lots more companies doing this with other brands .

[Farhip]

I have been fortunate in being able to drive two examples of Singer “hot rods” and it is literally difficult to verbally pass along how perfect the driver engagement experience feels as opposed to a purely original Porsche 964/911. Actually, as opposed to any other major car manufacturer, not just Porsche, including the more focused low production quantity products. I was captivated by the level of precision and obviously thoughtful effort that was presented in the effort to elevate the “feel” of quite literally every detail the driver would be engaged with. That goes for those items one would touch and see while operating the car or even sitting still. But what was surprisingly unique was just how specifically intentional the car communicates through the seat, pedals, and steering wheel. For anyone that is a true lover of the drive experience (very different from say, the comfort experience), I have honestly never experienced another vehicle that seems to have taken every detail, down to the minutia, to this extraordinary level of intention to all the senses of the driver’s engagement experience. Aside from the physical vehicle, it’s actually quite fun just to imagine the effort and interaction that was obviously involved to bring a car like this to life. The whole concept of Singers intention along with these final products are just the absolute definition of cool. 👍🏻😎👍🏻