Porsche will build Singer engines?

Porsche has joined forces with an unlikely ally, perhaps as a signal that its engine manufacturing business will continue to thrive in the age of electrification.

According to Top Gear, Porsche, specifically Porsche Motorsports North America, will supply tuning company Singer with custom-built engines for use in its restoration modeling business. Some of the engines will be built by Porsche to Singer's own specifications.

However, the engines will not be built from scratch. In a statement to Top Gear, Porsche called the engine a "remanufactured" unit, suggesting that it is a rebuilt version of an existing engine.

Production will take place at Porsche Motorsports North America headquarters, part of the Porsche Experience Center in Los Angeles.

This is not the first time Singer has turned to an outside supplier for an engine; for the engine that will be used in the DLS-spec 911, Singer has asked Williams Advanced Engineering Technology, an offshoot of the Williams F1 team, to develop it. This engine is a 4.0-liter flat-six that revs to 9,000 rpm and produces 500 hp.

Singer has been modifying old 911s since the 2000s, and founder Rob Dickinson founded the company in 2003 after a 1969 911E he restored generated interest. Porsche appreciates Singer's contribution to keeping old Porsches running, but the two companies have had conflicts in the past over Singer's use of the Porsche name on some of its vehicles.