What does McLaren P1 designer Frank Stephenson think of Singer’s DLS Turbo?

Frank Stephenson is a car designer with more hits than the Beatles, including the Escort RS Cossie, first BMW Mini, Maser MC12, numerous Ferraris and the McLaren P1. These days he runs his own consultancy – Frank Stephenson Design. Here he shares his views on the Singer DLS Turbo

Restored. Reimagined. Reborn. That is Singer’s mission statement, and with the DLS Turbo, it’s gone all in. The ‘Dynamics and Lightweighting Study’, inspired by 1970s Porsche 934/5 endurance racers, is a glorious homage to a time when designers weren’t shackled by pedestrian impacts or parking sensors. The result? Spectacular, unapologetic, and utterly audacious.

Wide, sculpted wheelarches and enormous air intakes give the car a purposeful, performance-oriented stance. Where previous Singers have displayed restrained elegance, the DLS Turbo takes everything to the extreme: it’s a poster car. The rear wing is humongous, the haunches are colossal, and from certain angles, the exaggeration borders on cartoonish.

Even so, the detailing is surgical, as we have come to expert from Singer. Body panels, vents, and ducts are precise, full carbon bodywork gives a finish they could have only dreamed of in the 1980s. The intakes are plentiful but purposeful, you can visually follow the journey of the air as it flows from the front to the rear. Those integrated into the rear quarter windows are a beautiful example of elevating the design without detracting from the original lines and silhouette of the 911.

Step inside and the craftsmanship is jaw-dropping – the kind that would make a Swiss watchmaker take notice. The cockpit is uncluttered, precise, and so exquisitely executed that the astronomical price tag almost feels justified. Tactile switches, jewel-like gauges, woven door pulls and the fully exposed gear linkage feel like an extension of the car’s intent: no clutter, just driving essentials.

The DLS Turbo proves that a Singer can be as much about spectacle as precision. Dramatic, audacious, occasionally comical, yet undeniably full of charisma.

Verdict: Hot