Intake
D
rawing on Porsche’s especially
legendary rally machines, such as
the 911 SC/RS, 953, and 959, the
Singer All-terrain Competition Study
(ACS) forges its path through ... well, what-
ever lies in front of it, from the looks of it.
Singer worked with Richard Tuthill—a
man to whom “Porsche rally specialist”
doesn’t quite do justice—to build the ACS
on a client request. Tuthill has prepared
Porsches for race duty for decades, at
times in partnership with Prodrive and
for Porsche itself. The goal wasn’t just to
build a vehicle with rally-raid capabilities;
the intent was to produce a vehicle that
could conceivably compete in real rallies.
That means a mere “safari” look wouldn’t
cut it. Singer’s ACS needed to have pace,reliability, and ruggedness necessary to
carry it over the line.
Obviously, the body’s been radically
reconsidered and heavily reinforced, with
carbon-fiber bodywork built for quick
repairs and easy access on a rally stage. A
permanent AWD system is fitted. Power
from the car’s 3.6-liter twin-turbo flat-six
channels through a five-speed sequential
race transmission and three differentials
before finding its way to the ACS’ wheels,
all four of which are wrapped in all-ter-
rain tires. Two spares are on board, in
case bad luck strikes twice.
Singer pegs the engine’s output at 450
hp and 420 lb-ft of torque. Depending on
the nature of the event it competes in,
the ACS’ engine can be tuned to produce
different outputs. The suspension is
predictably intricate; a total of eight
dampers, each five-way adjustable, allow
for extremely long suspension travel and
afford the ACS a tall ride height at rest.
Competition-spec seats pair with a full
rollcage, and the expected navigation and
comfort equipment are present.
And that’s just this car. The red car
(not pictured) is a variant intended for
tarmac rallies and was also commissioned
by the original client. The fundamental
idea is the same, but the necessary equip-
ment has been altered and specified for
road rallies.
“Regular” Singer restorations start at
well into the six-figure range, so the ACS
will likely be even dearer. Alex KiersteinPerfect for Getting Dirty
18 MOTORTREND.COM APRIL 2021NEWSI OPINIONI GOSSIPI STUFFSinger 911 ACS
FIRST LOOK