During the 90’s I was lucky to be able to produce and present a series of Australian Outback documentaries where we visited some of this country’s most remote and beautiful places. As the best way to really show the vastness of some of the locations was from the air, we spent a fortune hiring helicopters to get aerial vision. Some were professional operators, some were tourism companies while others were nothing more than cattle musterers, in fact I look back and cringe at the thought of where we put a cameraman and thank God everyone got home safely.
Consequently, when I now see the amazing vision that is being shot on very small domestic drones, I’m extremely envious and wish they were around 30 years ago.
It’s not just the pictures that amaze me, but the skill of the operators and their ability to manoeuvre the drones into some very tight spaces.
One such video I came across was from drone manufacturer DJI, who wanted to demonstrate how their Avatar drones could fit through tight space, so they flew one through the Porsche Museum which is located at the Porsche headquarter in the Zuffehausen district of Stuttgart in Germany.
The disbeliever in me wants to think that this video is a very good animation, however I’ve been assured by people who would know that it’s genuine and this being the case I have enormous respect for the operator, when you think of the value of the cars the drone is flying around
Flying DJI Avatar through the Porsche Museum
Whilst on Porsche, I was recently in a discussion with a few Porsche fanatics and they were lamenting that they didn’t hold onto their old Porsche cars, as had they and they decided to sell today, their bank balances would be an awful lot healthier.
It is a fact that well maintained Porsche cars from the 1980’s and 90’s have been and will continue to be very good investments.
Our conversation then got around to a company in America called Singer Vehicle Designs which specialises in restoring and reimagining 1989 to 1994 Porsche 911’s based on the 964 chassis. Founded in 2008 by English rock band ‘Catherine Wheel’s’ lead singer and guitarist Rob Dickinson.
In a relatively short period of time Singer’s reputation for supplying brand new, old Porsche 911’s has grown exponentially to the degree that there is a four-year waiting list, and as many of the car’s components are bespoke and/or motorsport quality, the price list can range from US$475,000 to US$1.8 million.
It is interesting to note that on the Singer website, they have the following disclaimer which I’m sure is for legal reasons, however in a way it so accurately describes what the company is all about:
‘Singer Group, Inc. (Singer) restores and reimagines 1989 to 1994 Porsche 911s, based on the 964 chassis at the direction of its clients. Singer does not manufacture or sell automobiles.
The product of Singer’s painstaking effort is a Porsche 911 restored and reimagined by Singer’.
‘Out of respect for Porsche, and to respect Porsche’s trademark rights, this incredible machine should never under any circumstances be referred to or described as a “Singer,” “Singer 911,” “Singer Porsche 911” or a “Porsche Singer 911,” or in any other manner that suggests that it is anything but a Porsche 911 that has been restored and reimagined by Singer’.
If you’d like to know more about Singer, Zagame Automotive are the official Australian Distributor.
Also check out this video as Ollie Marriage from Top Gear Magazine talks with Singer Vehicle Design’s CEO Mazen Fawaz and looks over their factory in Torrance, California