Louis Vuitton and Singer have just revealed two new one-off editions of the California firm’s ‘reimagined’ classic Porsche 911 at a private event on the fringes of Monterey Car Week. Their collaboration is so comprehensive that each is putting its name jointly to a product for the very first time: a decision slightly more significant for Louis Vuitton with its 172-year history than for Singer, which was founded in California in 2009 by British former rock singer and guitarist Rob Dickinson.
Almost every visual and tactile element of the two cars has been rethought by Louis Vuitton. It makes the first time that every department at the French brand has contributed to a single project, from watchmaking to trunk-making via footwear and fashion.
The project began when an unnamed Singer client asked for a removable clock – inspired by the Louis Vuitton Tambour watch – to be built into the dashboard of the ‘Classic’ coupe he was commissioning. That involved redesigning the car’s dials to match, and soon LV’s colors, materials, craft skills, and hallmark designs had extended across the entire car. There’s far too much to list here, but the commission includes LV leather in the cabin; luggage which has either been created from scratch to fit the front trunk or is a unique version of a classic LV design such as the Bisten or the Keepall; a capsule wardrobe for the driver including everything from a helmet to shoes; and even custom skis and an inlaid surfboard for the roof rack.
LV’s instantly recognizable saffron and cobalt blue colors suit Singer’s retro aesthetic perfectly, and its initials and motifs have been incorporated subtly across the cabin and exterior, from the ventilation eyelets in the seats to the grille in the rear engine cover. There are even LV details in places few will ever see, such as the engraving around the fuel and oil filler caps whose typography matches that on the brand’s watch components. The long list of bespoke parts has been created and assembled with the flawless fit and finish for which Singer has become famous.
See also: Why Porsche 911 Restomods Are Every Collector’s Dream
As the project grew, Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of women’s collections, Nicolas Ghesquière, suggested a second car: a Turbo cabriolet finished in Calcaire Lutétien white, inspired by the limestone from which much of Paris was built, including LV’s global headquarters at Pont Neuf. The design theme draws mainly on classic motorboats, with exterior wood trim, a ‘decking’ cover for the custom rear luggage compartment, and an elegant, lightweight temporary roof inspired by the bimini sunshade on a boat. Inside there’s the same level of bespoke detailing, with the standout being the gear-lever which seems to be sprouting from the gathered top of a Noé handbag. The same client also commissioned this car – and gets a second capsule wardrobe with it.
The LV collaboration is further proof of Singer’s rapid ascent into the stratosphere of bespoke car making. Just last month Singer quite literally overshadowed another of the world’s great car gatherings – the Goodwood Festival of Speed – when it was chosen as the event’s featured marque. It had three of its cars suspended from a vast, soaring Gerry Judah sculpture outside Goodwood House. Singer’s waiting list now exceeds four years, and if you can’t wait that long some of its more extreme models are changing hands for over $3m on the secondary market. Which is quite extraordinary, given that they are all still technically ‘restorations’ of a ratty 964-series Porsche 911 donor car built between 1989 and 1994.
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Louis Vuitton has wisely left the mechanical elements of the cars to Singer, so the Classic coupe gets a reworked 4.0-liter naturally-aspirated flat-six engine with over 400hp, and the cabriolet a twin-turbocharged 3.8 with over 500hp – both based on original Porsche blocks and driving through six-speed manual transmissions. The total cost of the two cars won’t be revealed, but a Singer commission with an equivalent mechanical specification would cost more than £1m (approx. $1.35m).
Collaborations between car makers and leading fashion and luxury houses are nothing new: Hermès has lent its sheen to everything from the Bugatti Veyron to the Citroen 2CV, and Louis Vuitton’s late artistic director of menswear, Virgil Abloh, produced three designs for Mercedes-Benz.
Some previous collaborations have been criticized for a lack of substance or authenticity, but Louis Vuitton’s involvement in motoring predates almost every car maker. It made its first trunks for cars in 1897, developing the waterproof ‘Vuittonite’ canvas which could be dyed to match the color of the car. From 1905 there was a range of accessories for early motorists, including roadside picnic sets. The firm equipped pioneer motorists in the Paris to Beijing races, and in 1909 Pierre and Jean Vuitton, grandsons of Louis, created their own car to promote the products of the family firm, then led by their brother, Gaston-Louis.
See also: Will the New Range Rover GT Land with Car Enthusiasts?
Design details
Detail of the dash strip trimmed in VVT leather with silver rhodium Louis Vuitton and Singer emblems.
A side exterior profile showing carbon fiber bodywork presented in saffron, with a roof rack and surfboard fitted. The car is. powered by 4.0L naturally aspirated flat-six.
Helmet and luggage accessories match the interior trim of the restomod.
A side exterior profile with roof raised, showing carbon fibre bodywork presented in calcaire lutétien white with wood accents. The car is powered by 3.8L, twin-turbocharged flat-six with air-to-water intercooling.
The interior is trimmed in Cognac leather with wood accents.
“I think we’re still pinching ourselves,” Singer’s founder Dickinson told Elite Traveler exclusively ahead of the unveiling. “I scrawled the words ‘everything is important’ on the wall of our first workshop what seems like an eternity ago. Implicit in those words is a quest to work with and learn from the best. Observing the creative decision-making process at Louis Vuitton was unlike anything I’ve experienced as a designer. Witnessing the absolute confidence of an organization at the peak of its powers and channelling that focus through Singer’s unique lens was thrilling but also challenging.
“The demands on the team across leatherworking, woodworking, metallurgy, textiles, and engineering were extraordinary. Understanding how we could take the signature Louis Vuitton malletage quilting from its travel trunks and execute that for an automotive interior, or incorporate wood, not just inside the car but as elements of the body – it all required coordination and immense trust.”
“This was a deeply collaborative effort, taking place over years,” Singer’s chief strategy officer Mazen Fawaz told us. “Every major decision was made together. Louis Vuitton has spent 172 years defining what exceptional craftsmanship looks like. Singer’s a little younger but we’ve always admired that commitment to quality and the belief that every detail matters. But we learned from one another, and ultimately arrived at something neither company could have achieved independently.”
