Louis Vuitton and Singer Unveil Two Exclusive Porsche 911s

Louis Vuitton and California atelier Singer have taken on the Porsche 911 with not one but two wildly different cars, each using meticulous restorations as a starting point for Vuitton’s longstanding fascination with travel. It’s also a first for both companies: Louis Vuitton has never before created a co-branded car, while Singer has never undertaken a collaboration of this kind.

One of the two automobiles, a Porsche 911 reimagined through Singer’s Classic services, is the more exuberant of the pair, finished in saffron and cobalt blue with flashes of bright yellow. Those colors aren’t arbitrary: the saffron reaches back through Louis Vuitton’s packaging and even its 1920s automotive trunks, while the blue appears everywhere from the tires to the interior details. Inside, natural leather is quilted with a pattern that references the malletage found inside Vuitton trunks, while even the ventilation holes in the seats are shaped into Monogram flowers.

The second car is more restrained, but perhaps more surprising. Conceived by Nicolas Ghesquière, the Porsche 911 reimagined through Singer’s Classic Turbo services is an ivory-white cabriolet that borrows from vintage motorboats. Warm leather, gold-toned details, and extensive woodwork run through the interior, while a rear luggage area is finished like a deck. Wood even appears on the bumpers, and the front trunk holds three custom cases designed to slot neatly together.

Something much smaller than a car is central to the collaboration: a detachable mechanical dashboard clock created by Louis Vuitton’s La Fabrique du Temps watchmakers in Switzerland. Inspired by the house’s Tambour watch, the Classic coupé’s timepiece can be removed from the car and used as a desk clock; its design ultimately spilled over into the rest of the dashboard, which picks up details from the Tambour’s distinctive dials. For Nicolas Ghesquière’s ivory-white Classic Turbo cabriolet, the clock sits prominently in the center console rather than among the instruments, surrounded by warm gold-toned gauges and a dial matched to the color of the car. Since one beautifully engineered way of telling time was not enough, Louis Vuitton created a corresponding 40mm Tambour Automatic wristwatch in ceramic and yellow gold, along with a pair of Coffret Tresor cases—one for the watch and another for the removable dashboard clock, which can be clipped back into the car beside the gearshift.

And because this is Louis Vuitton, neither project stops with the car. The Classic gets custom luggage, driving clothes, a helmet, gloves, skis, and even a surfboard in oak-and-walnut Monogram marquetry, while Ghesquière created a corresponding wardrobe and luggage collection for the cabriolet. “The depth of dialogue established between the worlds of automotive design, fine watchmaking and leatherwork makes these two cars particularly remarkable,” said Octave Chany, Project Lead Designer at Singer, adding, “Nicolas Ghesquière’s sensitivity to proportions, silhouettes and cultural expression has brought a perspective that has propelled the cars beyond traditional automotive design.” It turns what could easily have been a fairly straightforward fashion-meets-car project into something closer to a complete, elaborate vision of how to travel.