He was only five years old — and perhaps that's why what Rob Dickinson was about to see made such a big impression.
The British tot and his brother were alerted to the approach of a speedy car by their father while on vacation in the south of France. They turned to squint out the rear window of the family's Volkswagen Beetle.
"That's a Porsche 911," Dickinson recalls his dad telling the two of them.
To say that moment began a lifelong love affair would be vastly understating it. For Dickinson, the 911 is an obsession — albeit one that launched a breakthrough business venture.
Dickinson is founder of Singer Vehicle Design, a service that disassembles and completely restores 911s with loads of upgrades. His goal? Making it as close to automotive perfection as possible.
Focus On Perfection Like Dickinson
There is no shortage of shops that restore dilapidated classics to keep their original looks intact. These shops also add new components that make them safer and more enjoyable to drive.
Where Dickinson stands apart is how he created a company that's all about fussing over details large and small in the pursuit of taking a single car model to a pinnacle of performance and appearance.
Vintage 911s have developed a cultlike following of admirers and owners around the world, many with deep pockets when it comes to their passion. They aren't put off either by prices that can go as high as $2.5 million or having to wait years to receive their completed vehicle. The wait — currently about three years — is all in the name of making sure the tiniest detail is done perfectly.
"Perfection is where they are going but philosophically it's about optimization," said Ian Beavis, chief strategy officer for AMCI, an automotive marketing firm. "No one has taken it and made a business of out it, with (an order) list going out years on one brand. He has created a niche for himself."
Trust Your Instincts
And Dickinson does it entirely independent of Porsche, the performance car unit of Germany's Volkswagen. Singer goes to lengths to make sure the world knows it is distinct from the car's original maker — "not sponsored, approved, endorsed by, nor in any other way associated or affiliated with Porsche Cars North America," the company's coffee-table book notes.
As for the improvements, there is no design by committee. Though Dickinson consults various team members when it come to modifications, he said he follows his own judgment about what works and what doesn't.
He's not above changing his mind, either. He widened the fenders on one car he was working on to give it a hippier, more planted, appearance. But after a lot of pondering, he considered it too much and they were narrowed a bit.
Turn Your Hobby Into Your Life's Work
Dickinson, 56, didn't start his automotive career from scratch. The Norwich, England, native studied auto design at university and landed a job at sports carmaker Lotus. All the time, he had a second career as a musician. The success of his band, Catherine Wheel, was too much to resist compared to his day job.
Through the 1990s, the British alt band toured the United Kingdom and North America. They played clubs, festivals and appeared with bands like The Smashing Pumpkins. He produced a solo album about 20 years ago that still resonates: seven-time Grammy Award winner Billie Eilish covered a couple of his songs.
Between tours, he was lavishing attention on his own 1969 Porsche 911e. He had bought it in the early 1990s when the band was becoming successful. "It was my escape from the music," he explained. He not only brought it back to original condition, but kept going — adding his own improvements. After being stopped by admirers everywhere he drove it, he showed it at a local show and it was a hit.
Then, now living in California, he customized another 911 and showed it at one the country's premier car shows in Monterey, Calif., in 2009.
Dickinson: Embrace That 'What Now?' Moment
Ten people stepped up wanting one of their own. Yet he had no business plan and hadn't really thought about how to make it happen. Two months later, more orders rolled in — and it went from there — 25 to 50 to 75. Singer was founded, so named as a nod to Dickinson's music career and to Norbert Singer, one of the leading engineers at Porsche.
"At this point we said, 'hang on a minute, we have a business here,' " he said.
Today, about 150 workers toil on the glistening white floor of Singer's headquarters in Los Angeles, just across the street from the former U.S. headquarters of Toyota and not far from Honda's current digs. Singer has 100 workers at another facility in England, with plans to double that workforce over the next couple of years. They cater to 600 clients in more than 30 countries.
Be Exclusive — If You Can
Singer is not hurting for customers. Two of its three models — the "classic" original, which cost as much as $700,000, and a lightweight version called the Dynamic and Lightweighting Study, or DLS, which starts at $1.8 million, are sold out. Only the turbocharged version is available for orders. That one is going for $750,000 to $1 million.
Customers have to find an old 911 to start the process. And not just any 911, but rather what's known as the 964 version, still with an air-cooled engine like the 1960s original but sporting anti-lock brakes, power steering and improved suspension. They were built between 1989 and 1994.
The cars are brought in, torn down bolt by bolt and then put back together in a process that typically takes 4,000 worker hours. Body panels are replaced as they lengthen the hood and widen the buttress. The engine is completely rebuilt. New components are added.
These days, it's a fairly radical notion. Handcrafting cars is antithetical to the way the modern auto industry operates. Cars aren't built on assembly lines simply because it's faster and cheaper, which it is. They also usually boast higher quality. But being meticulous during hand building is another matter, and Singer believes its quality is without parallel.
Obsess About Success Like Dickinson
When it's done, the car oozes with Dickinson's personal touch.
Whether it's headlights, dashboard gauges or the roar of the engine, Dickinson says he tumbles into bed thinking about every facet of the design. Then he awakens and thinks about them some more, all in the quest for improvements on the iconic original.
"Anyone who does fabulous stuff — they don't just conveniently switch it off at four o'clock in the afternoon and then go and do something else," he said.
He has the scars to prove it. Dickinson underwent two carpel tunnel surgeries after injuring his wrists while personally building headlight enclosures over four days in 2011. He slept in the shop. It had to get done, he explained, in order to meet a deadline and keep the young company's cash flowing.
Keep Laser Focus, But Not Without Support
Being obsessive about bringing a dream to fruition need not mean rejecting those close around you, who you depend on for support.
Dickinson, the company's executive chairman, said he managed to create Singer while still maintaining his family, including his wife and a son "who doesn't give a hoot about cars."
He says he did it with the backing of his family. "Um, they got used to it," he said. "If you put your head down and immerse yourself in something that you just simply can't walk away from, I think you need to have your family close."
Become A Verb
The hard work — and family's support — is paying off. Dickinson has attracted competitors and reveled in hearing the company's name being used as a verb for the first time. Someone referred to cars as being "Singerized."
He said he has no fear of imitators. And the company won't speed up its restoration processes in reaction to any of those following his tracks. He said his clients will stay loyal because they appreciate the time that's put into the cars.
"We do it slowly. We do it patiently," he said. Not to mention, with a heavy dose of obsession.
Rob Dickinson's Keys
- Founder of Singer Vehicle Design, the leading firm that upgrades and modifies Porsche 911 sports cars.
- Overcame: Carpel tunnel pain resulting in obsessively long hours and repetitive motions while working on cars.
- Lesson: "Anyone who does fabulous stuff — they don't just conveniently switch it off at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and then go and do something else."
