It would be very easy to think that a certain Californian company (named after a man called Norbert) is the OG when it comes to restored and modified Porsche 911s. Singer is, by some distance, the best known in the business and dominates almost any discussion of restomods in general. For good reason too. But that’s also the reason why anyone else doing something similar is often painted as mere imitators, particularly if a 964 is used as the foundation for the work.
However, back in 2005, when Rob Dickinson was releasing his debut solo album (Fresh Wine for the Horses) and Singer Vehicle Design was barely a twinkle in his eye, Paul Stephens was already launching his Autoart series of restomod 911s, using the 964 as a base. He actually first thought of the concept in 2002 by which time he had already done several backdated SCs and 3.2s; but converting the unloved 964 was something new.
Anyway, in the last two decades Stephens has produced a handful of Autoart restomods each year in a variety of flavours ranging from the relatively subtle to the somewhat spicy. They have served him well. But now he’s done something different, something not based on a 964. And I can understand why: nobody wants to be thought of as simply copying others, even if that is absolutely not the case.
