Singer Vehicle Design DLS Test Drive @ Magarigawa Club: With Chris Harris

Singer experiences rebuilt Porsche at THE MAGARIGAWA CLUB

The other daySinger Vehicle Design and Cornes Motors Partnership AnnouncementI had previously participated in the event, but this time, Singer was going to give me the opportunity to ride in his rebuilt Porsche, so I was beyond excited and my heart was pounding as I waited for the day to come.

This is what we arrived at. Corns' pride and joy, Chiba Prefecture, is located in Minami Boso.The Magarigawa Club..

It appears that development is still ongoing at Magarigawa Club, and a new tennis court appears to be under construction just inside the gate.

It's already a wonderful place, but it looks like it's going to be even better.

On this day too, two vehicles from Singer Vehicle Design, the "Turbo Study" and "DLS Turbo", which had been exhibited at the recent presentation, came to Magarigawa.

Before the two cars arrived, the event began with a greeting from Singer founder Rob Dickinson.

The host for the day was motor journalist Peter Lion. He was a very gentlemanly and kind man who was also very considerate of those around him.

Peter said, "Now let's hear from the founder of Singer," and then...oh no, Rob wasn't there (laughs).

"Where is Rob?" and everyone goes "Hey, where is Rob?" and searches for him. It's fun from the beginning.

No, please don't misunderstand me and I don't mean this in a bad way. The atmosphere on this day was even more relaxed than the recent recital, and there was no weird formality. It was like, "Let's all enjoy this moment together today," and I really liked the casual atmosphere.

Rob appeared and said hello.

At the beginning, he greeted me in Japanese, saying, "Thank you for coming."

Rob thanked the Corns and introduced the members of Singer who had come with him to Japan that day, as well as the driver who would be driving the car for the day.

Four Singer reimagined models come together for the first time

According to Rob, this was the first time that the four cars that came to Magarigawa that day had all been gathered together in Japan. The Porsches that Singer rebuilt were:

• Turbo Study
• DLS Turbo
• Classical Studies
• DLS

4 units.

Also, the thing that made the biggest impression on me from what Rob said during our initial exchange was what he said about Magarigawa.

Rob himself said that Magarigawa is a wonderful facility, but he also introduced it by saying, "I would not have thought of it myself, but Chris Harris said a great phrase, and I think it's absolutely correct."

"It feels like the home we never knew we had."

"We found a new home that we didn't know existed until now" is what Peter translated it as.

What a great phrase.

Rob, Chris, and everyone else who came to Japan seemed to really like Magarigawa.

What was amazing at both the presentation the other day and the test drive today was that there was "no explanation whatsoever about the car" (laughs).

Normally, it would be a car event, and cars would be brought from overseas to be exhibited, so in those cases, wouldn't they usually explain things like "This car is like this, this is like that, these are its features, and here's what it sells!"?

But there is nothing like that.

Of course, if you have any questions, they will answer them, but generally there is no explanation of the Push type.

It became clear to me that the Porsches that Singer reconstructs are, after all, something that "people who want them will buy," and that Singer is not trying to sell them to people in an effort to get them to buy them.

Well, of course, even if it was sold, it would probably be difficult for the general public to purchase it (especially considering the price...(lol)).

After Rob's greeting, we immediately began the test drive.

While waiting for my turn to be called, I listened to and was taught various explanations by the Cornes staff, the Singer sales person, and the mechanic.

By the way, the Turbo Study model had power windows, but the DLS Turbo (the gold model) had windows that you opened and closed manually. I jumped to the conclusion that "usually, don't the more expensive ones have electric windows?" and asked "Why?" The sales person and the mechanic both answered "Lightweight" at the same time.

That's true! It was a question of whether it was heavy or light.

Well, considering the price difference of several hundred million yen between the Turbo Study and the DLS Turbo, the price difference between manual and electric windows is not something to worry about, and my thinking that it's a more expensive car is already too common, sorry ^^

Speaking of focusing on weight reduction, the DLS Turbo and DLS come with front lifters as standard, but of course these can also be removed to save weight.

By the way, the lifter for the Turbo Study and Classic Study is optional (additional charge). *The Classic doesn't need a lifter because the car is so tall to begin with.

In any case, even though the Porsches rebuilt by Singer are displayed like this one, as in the case of "This is the Turbo Study," it is not the case that the "Turbo Study" that is actually ordered will be exactly the same, and it seems that they will be happy to consult with you on any detailed changes, such as whether or not options are included or what modifications are made.

In fact, the car on display this time was said to be worth $900,000, which is about the price if you want to get the feel of that car, but the base price (if you can call it that?) of the Turbo Study itself was a little cheaper. Well, it's expensive though ^^

By the way, the only thing that cannot be changed on a re-created car is the exterior color. This is because there are many parts that use a lot of carbon, so it is not possible to repaint the body color.

As I listened to explanations and talked that day, I gradually became more and more in a good mood.

The reason for this was, of course, not only because we were enjoying the homey, laid-back atmosphere in front of all these beautiful cars, but also because the event that day even included alcohol.

I'm so happy.

On this day, I was very grateful that Magarigawa was providing alcohol and we even had transportation from within Tokyo, so thank you so much, I was able to drink to my heart's content ^^

Light snacks too.

Singer DLS, Classic Study Ride Experience

And so, trying to restrain myself a little so as not to get too carried away with eating and drinking, it was finally time for me to get behind the wheel of Singer's reimagined Porsche.

There were three cars available for test drive this time: two DLS and one Classic Study.

Each of the three cars will be driven by its owner, the other by Marino Franchitti, a racer who has competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and other races, and the third by Chris Harris, another Singer development driver and known as the presenter of BBC's Top Gear.

I had the opportunity to ride in this beautiful shiny black DLS.

This car took Singer six years to complete.

The car was driven by the owner, who seemed to have a lot of fun driving the Singer reimagined Porsche.

Even though I was in the passenger seat, I could really feel the G-forces, but the car itself felt incredibly light, and the owner told me that the car actually weighs 980kg. 980!

Here is the driving sound recorded from inside the car while I was riding with it (click on the image to play the sound) ↓

I didn't use proper equipment to record it, so I apologize for the haphazard recording, but the sound was amazing when I heard it in real life.

During this test drive, there were some parts where the engine sounds were even more sensual, but I'm sorry, I can't share the audio of the amazing parts because I couldn't help but shout out, "Amazing!!" (lol).

Thank you to the owner for giving me such a great car.

It was a very valuable and wonderful experience.

There are other cars driving around too.

This car was being driven by…

Chris Harris!

I had only ever seen Chris smiling like this on TV or my smartphone screen, but now I was right in front of him.

What's more, the whole situation of Singer development driver Chris Harris being at the wheel of Singer's rebuilt Porsche is just amazing.

We also had a chat when he wasn't driving.

He answered my questions honestly and flexibly, and was very kind to me even though he seemed busy. Thank you very much.

I also got his autograph, and when I asked if I could take a photo with him, he said "Of course" and at the same time posed and said "This is my face for signing", which was super fun ^^

After each ride was over, everyone spent the time having snacks, drinks, and chatting, but then one more event took place.

As there was a celebration happening that day, a special cake made by Magarigawa was prepared and the celebration began.

Rob himself cut the cake for everyone, making it a very homey atmosphere.

I don't know how to explain it, but rather, the atmosphere of this time was more like a home party where everyone was having fun together, rather than an event at Magarigawa.

We also had a slice of cake. It was delicious!

In the end, I had a few glasses of wine...

Not only did I get to encounter a Singer Vehicle Design car that has always been out of reach (or will likely never be), but I also got to experience a real driving Porsche rebuilt by Singer from the passenger seat, and I even had the opportunity to talk with Singer founder Rob and Chris Harris, among others. It was a truly exciting day.

What I felt through speaking with Rob, the Singer staff, and the actual car owners that day was that people admire the Porsches that Singer reimagines...or perhaps it's more a case of sympathy than admiration...owners who want to work with Singer to create "their own reimagined Porsche" are not only financially well off, but above all else, they are people who have peace of mind, a sense of fun, and who are also able to drive the Porsche properly.

I don't think anyone would buy a Porsche rebuilt with Singer and think, "I was forced to buy it from Singer."

There is a Porsche that you want to make, you clearly know the type of Porsche you want, and Singer is there to support you in that, and people who sympathize with the attention to detail work together with Singer to create it, and each of them reimagines a Porsche together with Singer...I think that this is the Porsche that Singer Vehicle Design reimagines, and that is its value.

You may not understand what I'm saying (lol), but when I looked at Turbo Study and DLS Turbo, they were so expensive that I honestly wondered, "What kind of person would buy this?"

But this time, watching Singer in a home party-like atmosphere, I thought as above and agreed with it.

We were also given a ride back, and the Cornes Shiba showroom at night (both Ferrari and Lamborghini) was also very nice.

Come to think of it, I haven't actually visited either of them since they were renovated, so I'd like to visit again sometime in the future.

Congratulations to Cornes Motors and Singer Vehicle Design on their partnership.

Thank you so much for a wonderful time ^^

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◆Singer Vehicle Design Announces Partnership with Cornes Motors

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