The Porsche 963 RSP is the newest road-legal Le Mans racer
One of the most exciting aspects of endurance racing is the specialized machinery used to compete, especially at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. Automakers often throw everything at it, with this upcoming iteration holding no less than 21 Hypercars from eight different manufacturers.
Back then, it was part of the rulebook that automakers would have to homologate their entries in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) for the road, hence the existence of some incredibly special road cars like the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR, Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, the Ford GT, the Toyota GT-One and a very special Porsche 917 made for Count Rossi, the owner of the Martini alcoholic beverage group that also sponsored countless Porsches in the past.
Repeating history, Porsche has made another special road-going hypercar in the 963 RSP, which is based on its current contender. If you didn’t know, RSP stands for Roger S. Penske, the owner of the Porsche Penske Motorsport, the team responsible for fielding the 963 in the WEC and the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship.
As a nod to the Rossi 917, the 963 RSP’s carbon and kevlar bodywork is finished in Martini Silver paint with stain black accents on hinges and wing connectors, rather than a wrap. Next, unique fender vents were created, carbon fiber blanking plates on the rear wing were removed, a 3D-printed 963 RSP badge for the rear, and an enamel Porsche badge is found on the nose of the car.
Apart from the addition of side mirrors, and the reprogramming of the front and rear lights to act more like a road car with the addition of turn signals, the road car now runs on wet-weather Michelin tires with 18-inch forged OZ wheels and has license plate mounting points.
The interior is fully upholstered in soft tan leather and Alcantara, where the material extends to the roof lining, pillars, and steering wheel. The single-piece carbon bucket seat, which also has leather upholstery, is also air-conditioned and comes with a 3D-printed cup holder for only a Porsche travel mug.
Mechanically, the ride height was adjusted to its highest possible setting, and the Multimatic DSSV dampers are now at their softest setting for a more forgiving and compliant ride.
The same hybrid 4.6-liter twin-turbo V8 powertrain, paired with a seven-speed sequential Xtrac transmission and an 800V lithium-ion battery, is still in its race tune. However, it has been remapped and retuned to provide more appropriate power delivery for the road, and can now operate on standard pump gas instead of race fuel. Also, it can still run purely on electric power.
Being a one-off effort from the Sonderwunsch team (special wish), don’t expect Porsche to make another one unless they get the right offer, but it’s still nice to see one-off homologation specials make a return in this day and age.
Photos from Porsche
