Louis Vuitton and Singer Hit The Road With A Pair Of ‘Reimagined’ 911s, And Timepieces To Match

Last weekend, we took a look at the latest watch from Singer Reimagined, which is a very smart take on the idea of casing a new old stock movement – in this case, Valjoux 72 chronograph calibers – in a design that offers a sense of connection to classic vintage sports chronograph features, but which is also very contemporary in its use of fresh, saturated colors on the dial, and elements like the sawtoothed dial flange.

We also knew that there was something cooking with Louis Vuitton and Singer, thanks to some very enticing teaser posts on social media from Jean Arnault, who is Director of Watches for Louis Vuitton. The news is now out: Singer and Louis Vuitton have collaborated on two “reimagined” 911s, based on the famous 964 chassis, manufactured from 1989 to 1993 – and the results are a frankly seductive combination of the best of both worlds. The two cars are a 911 with a saffron carbon fiber body, with a custom luggage rack and luggage; the second is a 911 Cabriolet Turbo, with a twin turbo flat six, a carbon fiber body in “Calcaire Lutétien” color (calcaire lutétien, or lutetian limestone, is a local stone used for construction in Paris since the Roman era) and with the overall design supervised by Louis Vuitton’s Artistic Director of Women’s Collections, Nicolas Ghesquière.

The cars officially launched at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, during Monterey Car Week.

Louis Vuitton’s Jean Arnault, via the press release, says:

“This unique and remarkable adventure began with a request for a dashboard clock for a car reimagined by Singer. In addition to the design and production of this [mechanical] clock by La Fabrique du Temps Louis Vuitton workshops in Switzerland, it quickly became apparent to us that this collaboration with Singer could extend to the personalisation of every functional element of the vehicle, enhancing them through our expertise in leather craftsmanship and watchmaking.”

Louis Vuitton’s watch division has done some extremely interesting collaborations recently, including a Sympathique clock with De Bethune, as well as watches with Kari Voutilainen and Rexhep Rexhepi, but this is the first time that Louis Vuitton’s done a timepiece collaboration with an auto manufacturer.

The Porsche 911 Singer x Louis Vuitton Classic

The 911 Classic’s saffron color is of course a signature color for Louis Vuitton, and the company says that it was used for a series of travel trunks designed for Citroën, in the 1920s. The car also has cobalt blue demonstration tires, and a full leather interior designed in collaboration with Singer, and then executed by Singer. There are a number of design cues in the interior which reflect the design of Louis Vuitton trunks, and all of the interior fittings are made of natural materials.

Knobs, control switches, locks, pull-tabs, and air vents are in metal, mostly rhodium-plated, with metal components hand-polished and hand-fitted. Different surface treatments for the colors used include anodising and electroplating, and the overall effect is resolutely analog, in stark contrast to prevailing trends in dashboard design, and the layout feels like a great expression of the Singer “restomod” ethos seen through the lens of Louis Vuitton’s 172 year history as a malletier (trunk and luggage maker).

The dashboard clock, which was the genesis of the whole project, has an eight day power reserve, and is removable. It’s hand wound, running in 22 jewels at 18,000 vph (the classic pocket watch frequency) and is one of a large number of accessories provided with the car. The shape of the clock is inspired by the Louis Vuitton Tambour watch, and is part of a global overall redesign of the instrument panel, in which the speedometer, rev counter, and other gauges reflect the Tambour design codes.

Among the many extras is, of course, a set of luggage specifically designed to fit the automobile. This includes two bags designed to fit in the front trunk (the trunk lid has a porthole in it, which both echoes the shape of the headlights, and gives your luggage a chance to enjoy the view as well) and a roof rack. The roof rack can hold two additional pieces of luggage – an LV Bisten 80 trunk, and a Keepall 50, both in leather and with blue trim that matches the interior and exterior of the car.

Perhaps the most charming piece of additional gear to come with the car, is a surfboard. It’s an old-school piece of woodworking, with marquetry inlay (made in Angers, a major French center for high-end luxury woodworking) on a fiberglass body.

This is a four-season exercise in recreational luxury; the car comes with a pair of skis as well (also designed specifically for the car).

Perhaps to disabuse you of the idea that this is strictly a car for idyllically leisurely cruising and frequent performative parking, you also get a crash helmet (911s have a long history of rallying, for which a helmet is a requirement). The helmet is glass and carbon fiber, and perhaps just as importantly, there’s a leather peak, as well as lamb and calfskin trim.

The 911 Singer x Louis Vuitton Classic: 964 chassis, 4.0 liter naturally aspirated air-cooled flat six, titanium exhaust system; six speed manual transmission with carbon ceramic brakes. Exterior, carbon fiber bodywork in safran metallic with silver rhodium brightwork and LV blue inserts. Interior, Vachetta leather in VVT (Vache Végétale Tannée); carbon fiber seats with leather trimmed seat backs; mailletage quilting for seat centers and doors; La Fabrique du Temps-designed Tambour gauges with removable 8-day dashboard clock; bespoke switches and knobs. 

The Porsche 911 Singer x Louis Vuitton Classic Turbo

Here we have a slightly different take. The Classic Turbo is a cabriolet, with a removable canvas roof, and the engine’s a 3.8 liter, twin-turbocharged flat six. The car’s styling was supervised by Nicolas Ghesquière and reflects his interest in incorporating nautical themes into his design work. The body is ivory and the design overall makes considerable use of wooden inlay, even in places where you wouldn’t think of wood as a primary material, like the bumpers. The vibe’s very much that of classic wooden runabouts, like those made famous by companies like Riva and Chris-Craft.

As with the Classic, the idea was to create something that expresses Louis Vuitton’s history as a supplier of trunks and other travel necessities, and the Turbo has its own set of luggage solutions. The space normally taken up by the two rear seats now has a wooden luggage compartment (which is pretty much the only thing the two back seats in a 911 are good for anyway).

The front trunk has a neatly done solution to the problem of using the limited space in both an efficient and stylish way.

The attention to detail extends to components not normally visible to the driver, including the linkages for the gear shifter.

The Classic Turbo also comes with an eight day dashboard clock, and, as well, a Tambour wristwatch in ceramic and yellow gold (the watch is chronometer certified by the COSC, for good measure).

There is a selection of accompanying accessories almost as impressive as the car – this includes those shaped Malle Coffre trunks; a briefcase; a “Petite Malle” miniature trunk for miscellaneous valuables; a driver’s jumpsuit made out of parachute silk; a pair of very mid-20th century driver’s goggles; and gloves, shoes, and a helmet.

The Porsche 911 Singer x Louis Vuitton Classic Turbo: Type 964 chassis; 3.8 liter twin-turbocharged flat six with titanium exhaust system and 6 speed manual transmission, and carbon ceramic brakes. Carbon fiber bodywork in “Calcaire Lutétien” cream white, with gold trim and American walnut accents. Interior in cognac leather; carbon fiber seats with American walnut seat backs; removable eight day dashboard clock; leather Noé bag-inspired gear shifter; bespoke switches and knobs; and bespoke “deleted” rear seats with integrated luggage compartment.

This is Singer’s restomod philosophy taken to its logical conclusion, or at least, one of its logical conclusions. There are certainly folks who feel that the whole air-cooled 911 business had already gone too far, and for them this project is simply going to be more proof, if any were needed, that the fetishism around those cars has gone far beyond driving per se and become an end in itself.

Personally, I don’t feel that way. The level of attention to detail in these cars is very impressive; the visual branding is rather subtle and the collaboration has been thought out throughout every aspect of both cars, extending not just to deployment of Louis Vuitton’s logos, and the many gorgeous details in the cars themselves, but also to the number of additional custom items which speak to a whole world of refined travel in a bygone time, when traveling well was an end in itself. I’m able to look at this whole thing from the perspective of someone who is absolutely not an air-cooled 911 purist, and I think the best way to enjoy these cars is to take off the doctrinaire purist glasses and see them for what they are, which (if you ask me) are exercises in the sort of exuberant fineness of execution you hope for from the luxury world and which, these days, you seldom get.

What really closed the deal for me was the surfboard – I can’t imagine a more enjoyable end to the summer than heading down to the beach, hitting the waves, and leaving a little honest-to-goodness sand on the floor of the Classic 911 (you could do the same thing with the Turbo, of course, although you’d probably have to give up the passenger’s seat for the board, which would be its own kind of cool). Maybe Louis Vuitton can hook you up, if you want to play at carefree beach bum, with a bespoke beer cooler for the frunk (you can put  a few magnums of Moët & Chandon Esprit du Siècle Brut, instead, if you want – and invite me along for the ride).

A few cynics have said that they think the only traveling these cars are going to do is on a flatbed, but that would be a shame. These are in all likelihood, one and a half to two million-plus cars, but I sure hope whomever ends up with them ends up driving them. Like a great piece of luggage, they’d look fantastic broken in.

Find out more about the cars, and register interest, at SingerVehicleDesign.com.