Watch Singer’s mean, mud-slinging ACS in motion
Last week, Singer revealed its latest Porsche 911 project, the All-Terrain Competition Study. The ACS is essentially a wild, spare-no-expense assault on the safari 911 trend, and the latest video footage demonstrates the lifted Porsche is by no means a trailer queen. Released today, the clip showcases the ACS slinging wet mud on a deserted trail as it bounds over gravel humps and belts out a stupendous flat-six song.
To recap, the ACS started life as a 1990 Carrera 4. With the help of U.K. Porsche and motorsports expert Richard Tuthill, the 964-gen 911 was transformed, nose to tail, into a Baja-style desert runner inspired by 1980s Porsche rally icons like the Rothmans SC/RS and 959. The all-wheel-drive system boasts front, center, and rear mechanical limited-slip differentials. Singer strengthened the monocoque for abuse and raised it 12 inches compared to stock on a custom long-travel suspension, with dual five-way adjustable dampers at all four corners. Four-piston monobloc steel disc brakes hide within 16-inch forged aluminum wheels, all wrapped in BFGoodrich All-Terrain rubber.
The ACS’ traction-focused approach is on full display in the video, as the outrageous off-roader splashes through puddles and drifts around dirt-packed corners. Singer’s test driver barely saws at the the steering wheel as the ACS just manhandles any surface, occasionally banging off purposeful-sounding shifts from its sequential five-speed dogbox.
Oh, then it launches. The lightweight carbon-fiber body gracefully squats on its suspension as the ACS lands, sorting itself back into equilibrium with efficiency and poise. Then it’s back on the throttle, the twin-turbo 3.6-liter flat-six wailing as 450 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque are delivered to all four wheels.
This sensational clip does the ACS a lot more justice than the still beauty-shots, which sort of make it look like a Cyberpunk 2077 render by a committee of 911 fans. Seeing the car in motion and off-road, however, should force even ruthless skeptics to admit that this rough-and-tumble Porsche is seriously cool and entirely for real. Here’s to hoping that the owner that commissioned it will take it racing as intended, and that future ACS commissions will give us the opportunity to see at least a pair of these wild machines duking it out in the desert.