Porsche Lookalikes That Aren’t Legally Porsches
Porsche’s catalog features an eclectic range of vehicles. In its ranks live brutish SUVs with power-laden engines commanding a power output north of 500 hp and lightweight track-ready coupes renowned for their dynamism to sleek but violent electric wagons. As the saying goes, imitation is the highest form of flattery and, for decades, Porsches have been reimagined by third-party tuning companies.
One of the more well-known tuner companies focused on the Porsche brand is RWB, or Rauh-Welt Begriff (translating to Rough World Concept), which radically reimagines the proportions of the German brand’s 911 models. However, regardless of the use of the 911 models as the foundation of the RWB products, legally they are not allowed to be called Porsches or wear the brand name. The same applies to all tuning companies that utilize Porsche models in their projects. There are three significant examples of companies utilizing Porsches at the core of their projects, but, they cannot be called Porsches or wear the branding. One of these companies is Singer Vehicle Design, which is a restomodding company that specializes in Porsche models and is revered by Porsche enthusiasts for its interpretation and rendition of the Porsche 911.
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The thing about Singer is, that while its offerings are lauded for their bespoke exterior styling elements, intricately designed interiors, and fire-sitting power plants, they are add-ons that change the design and engineering of Porsche’s products. Furthermore, Singer Automotive (and other tuning companies) is in no way associated, endorsed, or approved by Porsche. Therefore, their products are not allowed to wear the Porsche name, but that has happened before and caused Porsche to take action against Singer Vehicle Design.
3 Singer ACS
In 2021, Singer Vehicle Design unveiled the Singer All-Terrain Competition Study, which drew inspiration from iconic all-terrain Porsche rally models like the 959, which raced in the 1986 Paris-Dakar rally, and the extremely rare 1984 911 SC/RS draped in the iconic Rothmans livery and participated in 13 international rallies. Only two examples of Singers’ ACS were produced. One was finished in a Parallax white color scheme that was purposed for high-speed desert rallying, while the other, which was finished in a brighter variation of Corsica Red, was designed for high-speed driving on tarmac.
Singer’s off-road 911-based product utilized an air-cooled 1990 964 911 as its foundation and, in comparison to the standard 964 911 model, was distinguished by its significantly raised ride height, more suspension travel (as a result of the new suspension system that features twin five-way adjustable dampers at each wheel), and carbon fiber body panels.
At the core of each variant of the Singer ACS is a 3.6-liter twin-turbocharged air-cooled flat-six engine mated to a sequential racing transmission. 450 hp and 420 lb-ft or toque were sent to all four corners of the reimagined 911s through a permanent all-wheel-drive system that also relied on three limited-slip differentials located at the front, center, and rear of the car.
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The Singer ACS was developed in collaboration with Richard Tuthill, which, despite these vehicles being commendable tributes to the rallying Porsche models of yore, evoked a negative response from Porsche. Again, because Singer Automotive is not an official partner or endorsed by Porsche, they cannot outfit their products with the Porsche name. Singer had plastered the Porsche name, without official permission to do so, on the flank and rear of the ACS.
In response to this, Porsche requested that Singer remove all media regarding the ACS from its public media outlets. According to a representative from Porsche, the firm needs to ensure that its products, which are designed and engineered by Porsche, are easily distinguished from the products spawned by tuning companies like Singer. It is worth noting that Singer had previously displayed the Porsche name in other projects, but it’s likely that those were decals and stickers rather than embossed scripts.
The two companies have made up since, and Porsche now actually builds engines for Singer.
2 The Marsien
Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH was founded by the son of Uwe Gemballa, the founder of the famed Porsche tuning company Gemballa, credited with the creation of power-laden tarmac terrorizers like the Gemballa Mirage GT. Marc Philipp Gemballa debuted his interpretation of the modern-day 959 in 2021, dubbed the Marsien. Similarly to Singer’s products, the Marsien, despite employing the Porsche 911 Turbo S as its skeleton, can’t be called a Porsche, because it was neither designed nor engineered by Porsche. The difference between Porsche’s reception of the Marsien and the Singer ACS lies in the fact that the almost-space-age Marsien features none of the Stuttgart-based firm’s logos, crests, or any related branding. All that the Marsien retains from Porsche is the outline of the Turbo S and Porsche’s interior architecture. Aside from this, the Marsien is poised as a bespoke offering from Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH, limited to just 40 units.
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The design of the Marsien is the brainchild of seasoned designer Alan Derosier. A full, shapely carbon fiber body sits atop the bones of Porsche’s Turbo S, shrouding a mechanical ecosystem that is a far cry from what underpinned the model it was based on. Off-road poise is the result of the implementation of a double-wishbone suspension system at the front complemented by a multi-link rear suspension system, with KW Automotive semi-active solid piston dampers found at each corner. The Marsien also employs a hydraulic lift system capable of raising the car by 5 inches to achieve a ground clearance of 9.8 inches. Dune-conquering performance is sourced from the same 3.7-liter twin-turbocharged engine employed in the standard Turbo S. However, the Marsien’s power plant is felted by RUF to output 750 hp and 686 lb-ft of torque, instead of Turbo S’ 640 hp and 590 lb-ft output, but retains the 8-speed PDK. The updated flat-six’s efforts are retorted by an Akrapovic titanium exhaust system.
1 RUF Automotive
The biggest difference between Singer Vehicle Design, Marc Philipp Gemballa, and RUF Automobile GmbH, is that RUF Automobile GmbH is not a tuning company but an actual manufacturer. This is the reason RUF vehicles are not allowed to be called Porsches because they are bespoke creations, designed and engineered from the ground up by RUF. In its earlier years, the company operated similarly to Singer Vehicle Design and worked on modifying and tuning Porsches. In 1978, RUF unveiled the first complete product, based on the Porsche 930 Turbo, and featured a stroked 3.3-liter naturally-aspirated flat-six engine.
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A few years later, RUF would get its manufacturers’ certification from the German Federal Vehicle offices, and in 1988 would be certified in the US by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Additionally, the RUF car features VINs unique to RUF Automobile GmbH, denoting that while vehicles like the RUF CTR3 EVO, CTR Anniversary, and SCR appear like exaggerated retellings of already existing Porsche products, they are, in fact, unique creations.
It’s because of the fundamental difference in design and engineering between the vehicles spawned by RUF and Porsche, that the former is not legally allowed to be called or wear any of Porsche’s branding.
Sources: Singer Vehicle Design, Marc Philipp Gemballa GmbH, RUF Automobile GmbH
