
I rescued abandoned 1929 Singer car I learned to drive 65 years ago after it was left to rot – now it's as good as new
Merriel Gallifant's father, Harry Booth, bought the 1929 Singer Junior from a scrapyard in 1961, and the teenager, then 16, used it to learn to drive.
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Quickly becoming a grease monkey, she fondly remembers practising gearstick changes in front of her father's Old Cottage Paint shop in Stanway, Essex.
Sadly, just a year later, her Dad flogged her beloved wheels to David and Sylvia Rouse for a fiver.
Astonishingly, Merriel was reunited with her old flame at a classic car rally thirty years later.
The Rouse's were displaying the well-loved wheels at a car rally when Merriel spotted the old banger.
She exclaimed, 'That's my Car!' and showed the couple a snap of her teenage self sitting on the bonnet back in the day.
Mr Rouse was very attached to the Singer, using it daily, taking it for spins at vintage car club events, competing in hill climbs, driving tests and navigational rallies and tours.
The couple kept their bargain motor for 57 years before David died in 2017.
Mrs Rouse sold their vintage car collection but kept the Singer until Merriel approached her, buying the token from her childhood back in 2019.
Selflessly, Merriel waved goodbye to her four-wheeled first love once again, selling it at auction for £4.1k and donating every penny to St Helena Hospice.
Auctioneer, Lewis Rabett from auctioneers Reeman Dansie, said: 'It's a beautiful little car with a heart-warming story.
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'A proper full-circle moment. There's even a photo of Merriel with the car now and back when she was a teenager – not much has changed!'
He added: 'It's a niche buy, but for the right person, this car is an absolute gem. It's been loved and lived in – and it shows.'

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Times
19 hours ago
- Times
The favourite supercar of Formula 1 drivers
Unlike the glitzier Swiss mountain resorts of St Moritz and Gstaad, the village of Adelboden, west of the Bernese Oberland, is rarely troubled by the peace-shattering roar of Ferraris and Lamborghinis. No, Adelboden is the sort of Alpine retreat where groceries come from the Co-op, shops sell walking boots and alpenstocks rather than Cartier and Brunello Cucinelli — and the most popular thing to get drunk on is the spectacular view of the surrounding snow-capped peaks. Few would think of looking inside Adelboden's former fire station in search of 17 of the world's most coveted supercars, with a combined value of $50 million. But that's what was hidden behind the building's large steel doors last month as preparations were being made for the first global gathering of owners of cars restored by the California-based Singer Vehicle Design. If you're unfamiliar with Singer, it has become the world's premier builder of Porsche 911 'restomods' — a portmanteau word describing 'restoring' and 'modifying' in order to combine the appeal of a traditional classic with the latest and best of engineering to create cars that blend old-school character and charm with new-school usability and performance. Singer Vehicle Design was founded in 2009 by Rob Dickinson, the former vocalist, songwriter and guitarist with the defunct British rock band Catherine Wheel, and his mantra from day one has been 'a relentless pursuit of excellence'. Focusing solely on 964 series Porsche 911s built between 1989 and 1994, the firm takes original donor cars and strips them to their bare bones before putting them back together after virtually every component has been improved, redesigned and recrafted to create what many enthusiasts regard as the ultimate in air-cooled 911s. But never call them a Porsche, for goodness sake. Although the cars origins are instantly recognisable, closer inspection reveals myriad upgrades — so many, in fact, that Porsche's legal team have questioned Singer Vehicle Design's right to use any Porsche branding whatsoever, and insists Singer makes clear that it is in no way affiliated with the marque. Bodywork can be almost entirely replicated in carbon fibre. Engines are remade to provide significant increases in power and durability (some by famous racing firms such as Williams Engineering and Cosworth) and interiors combine retro-look, high-tech instruments with bespoke upholstery in woven leather and fine fabrics. Such excellence doesn't come cheap: at its outset 16 years ago, a Porsche 911 Reimagined by Singer (as the cars must legally be called) would have set you back about $250,000. But, as engineering techniques have evolved, specifications have improved and demand has outstripped supply, so prices have increased to the point that the current most expensive creation from Singer Vehicle Design — the Dynamics and Lightweight Services or DLS Turbo — has a base price of about $2.7m/£2.2m. Bespoke additions can bring the cost of the typical DLS Turbo to about $3.1m/£2.2m — partly because the car features engineering solutions drawn directly from the world of Formula 1, such as engine components made from magnesium, titanium and Inconel and aerodynamic improvements calculated using computational fluid dynamics. At least ten past and present F1 drivers — including Jenson Button and Alex Albon — either own a Singer or have one on order. During a recent visit to Singer Vehicle Design's large but entirely anonymous UK satellite factory in Woodford Halse, Northamptonshire, I spotted more than 35 of the cars 'in build'. So how did 17 Singers come to be locked up in an old fire station in an obscure Alpine village? The answer is that Adelboden is the part-time home to one of the firm's most enthusiastic patrons, who reasoned that there are few places on earth better suited to putting a Singer through its paces than the serpentine roads of the multiple mountain passes that surround it. The Welshman Grant Maunder first discovered the place in 1977, when he travelled there with his mother and father — not in a Porsche but in the family Ford Escort — to stay in a Salvation Army chalet. 'My parents were involved with the Salvation Army and a woman called Maya Schraegler came to stay with us in Penarth as part of a sort of 'exchange of ministers' programme, which is how we ended up going to her home village of Adelboden for a holiday.' Maunder, now 57, instantly fell in love with the place and continued to visit as an adult. 'I used to go skiing there with friends during the 1980s, and we slept in a nuclear fallout shelter because that's the only place we could afford. I remember looking up at the 72-room Grand Hotel Regina, the glitziest place in town, and thinking, one day I'll be able to afford to stay there.' Fast-forward to 2009, and Maunder could stay there for as long as he liked without worrying about the rack rate — because, following an aborted attempt to become a Royal Marines bandsman at the age of 17, he had fallen into a career as a financial adviser, achieving such success that he was able to buy the entire hotel and rename it The Cambrian. Exactly a year ago Maunder and his brother, Craig — who describe themselves as 'accidental hoteliers' — also opened the exquisite Brecon hotel half a mile up the road on the edge of the village. This 18-room, four-suite 'adults only' establishment really does give guests the feeling of being welcome visitors in someone's much loved home. 'It is partly a result of being in the hotel game that drew me to want to own a Singer,' says Maunder, who ordered his first, a Classic, in 2017 and now has two more cars in build — a Classic Turbo and an example of the recently launched Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe Reimagined by Singer. 'I soon discovered that meticulous attention to detail really does matter, and that's the attitude they take at Singer. So much so that it took five years from ordering my first car for it to be delivered, during which time I got to know Rob well enough to suggest holding the first global gathering of owners in Adelboden.' The 40 or so people who turned up (owners plus partners or friends) proved the perfect number to fill the Brecon, which served as the base for three days driving their Singers on some of the most exciting and challenging roads Europe has to offer. Although their VIP status precluded me joining the main event, I did enjoy the privilege of driving three different Singer creations on the same roads during the two days prior — and quickly discovered why having to wait five years for his original Classic didn't deter Maunder from going back for more. As the owner of a regular 1980s Porsche 911 for the past 20 years, I continue to be surprised by how exciting and rewarding it is to drive — while simultaneously feeling solidly built, dependable and unique in character. Singer has succeeded in retaining that character while magnifying every aspect of the 911 experience in each different version. The original Classic feels, well, classic — while being smoother, easier to drive and far quicker than a standard car. The Classic Turbo delivers effortless high-speed touring with refined power. And the DLS comes across as a true racer for the road, with a screaming, ultra high-revving engine, ultra sharp handling and giant brakes that seemed to enable it to defy physics as we blasted up the mountain passes. 'They are extremely expensive, but they're definitely worth the money,' Maunder says, 'and I've been told my Classic, which cost me around $600,000, is now worth around $1m because only 450 were scheduled to be made and they have all been sold.' Which gives me good grounds to suggest to Mrs de Burton that, instead of buying a new Skoda and watching it depreciate, we should borrow a couple of mill, buy a Singer DLS Turbo and go to live in Adelboden while our investment grows. After all, what could possibly go wrong?


Auto Blog
09-07-2025
- Auto Blog
Singer Wows The Goodwood Crowds With Its Latest 911 Restomod
By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. 10 Years of Goodwood Exhibits Singer's first appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed was back in 2015, and in 2025, the company has reached the milestone of restoring and delivering 500 Classic, Classic Turbo, or DLS vehicles since its founding. As part of this year's extravaganza, the company is presenting two Porsche 911 Carrera Coupes reimagined by Singer, one of which will take to the famous Goodwood Hillclimb, while the other will be on display outside the Stable Yard, giving visitors to the event a taste of its soundtrack and a close-up look at all the details, which, as always, are immaculate. Just 100 will be made, but they won't be done quickly. 0:07 / 0:09 2025 Audi S3: 4 reasons to love it, 2 reasons to think twice Watch More 964 Becomes Something More With Cosworth The reimaginings start with Singer's usual foundation, the 964-generation Porsche 911, which is fully disassembled and stripped until the steel chassis is exposed. This is meticulously assessed, cleaned, and prepared before chassis strengthening – developed with Red Bull Advanced Technologies – is applied to enhance rigidity, thereby allowing the chassis to make the most of its new engine, which is derived, in part, from that of the DLS program. The body is then widened to mimic the swollen stance of the original 930 Porsche 911 Turbo. In collaboration with Cosworth, the 911's flat-six has been significantly enhanced, even over previous similar reimaginings. For the first time, a Singer gets variable valve timing and water-cooled cylinder heads with air-cooled cylinders. There's also an electric fan that owes some of its existence to the DLS Turbo Study – necessary when the 4.0-liter engine delivers 420 horsepower and revs to over 8,000 rpm, which can be heard through a new titanium exhaust system. This is paired with a six-speed manual gearbox, and Singer will gladly fit an exposed shift mechanism to highlight the detail of this restomod's beauty. Singer Also Takes Leather To New Levels Although the mechanical elements are the most attractive to the gearhead, Singer hasn't stayed stagnant when it comes to the cabin either, displaying leatherwork on both these reimaginations that features stitched and burnished seams, which requires hand-painting after edge sanding and takes 400 hours per car. The first car, finished in Celeste Passalacqua, features Mars Pink elements of velvet corduroy cloth, while the Giallo Segnale example gets a special Interferenza cloth in black. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. 18-inch centerlock wheels, air conditioning, carbon-ceramic brakes, and a choice of sports or lightweight track seats – these are elements that highlight the duality of the new Singer builds, blending high-performance engineering with extraordinary craftsmanship to create a car that can hustle on the track and draw gasps of adulation and wonder when static. For a company only founded in 2009, that's a remarkable balance to manage with such poise, but Singer pulls it off once again. We can't wait to see what the next decade of Goodwood exhibits will bring. About the Author Sebastian Cenizo View Profile


Top Gear
04-07-2025
- Top Gear
Revology 1967 Shelby GT500 review: the bar for resto Mustangs just got much, much higher Reviews 2025
Bite your cynical alter ego's tongue, please. This is a 1967 Shelby GT500, built by the fine folks of Revology Cars, which means it's not just another restomod slapped together to make a quick buck off of people who refer to all classic Mustangs as 'an Eleanor'. Does it now? Indeed. If you recall our last run-around with a Revology Mustang, there was much bristling around the label 'restomod' from company founder and CEO Tom Scarpello due to the association the term has with the roughshod junk flooding the Mustang market. After an exhaustive deep dive into how Revology makes its products – including a walkthrough of its Florida facility – we're here to tell you that is very much not the case here. Where's Revology at these days? Physically, in Orlando, Florida. But business-wise, they're in a good place. Revology now lives under the umbrella of Knighthead Capital Management, which doesn't mean much to the average Joe on its own, but is relevant here because Knighthead also has a controlling stake in Singer, the famous Porsche restoration company. Though the two companies operate independently, to be able to call Revology 'the Singer of Mustangs' is worth the association alone. It's a great shorthand for the level of quality Scarpello and crew are committed to with their offerings. Enough business talk. Power! Speed! Yes! This Shelby GT500 is fitted with a Ford/Roush 5.0-liter supercharged V8 that screws up 710hp and lays it all down to the rears by way of a six-speed manual. You can hear it screaming out the back of the Borla exhaust Revology had tuned specifically for this car and it sounds as powerful as it feels. It doesn't feel right to simply say 'pretty good' without talking about build quality first, and my summary is barely going to do the process justice. Stick with us, this is cool. Let's start by saying Revology builds its cars like an OEM, which was evident throughout a tour of what is basically its mini assembly plant. There is no 'let's take an old Mustang and shove aftermarket bits' here, there is an agonizing design and build process that has a legacy automaker's level of scrutiny throughout each stage, most of it unsexy but no less fascinating. I sat through a 30-minute presentation about making a better powered window, and was transfixed by the level of importance this and other oft-overlooked components receive. Returning to the Shelby, this GT500 benefits from a number of updates made to the recent batch of Mustangs, including a revised assembly process that now includes the use of structural adhesives to improve rigidity. As I climb in, Scarpello is eager to point out a number of upgrades. The seats? New and sourced from the Mazda MX-5, because the answer is always Miata. Even in other cars, apparently. They're just a better fit, physically and thematically, than what the aftermarket offers. Pedal geometry adjustments and tweaks to the gearbox have been made, which Scarpello points out as a fix to one of the observations I made in the 'Bullitt' Mustang I drove before.