You can’t drive a race car on the street. That’s what we’ve been told for decades, right? Too loud. Too powerful. Way too fast. You’ll kill someone, likely yourself included. Think of the irritation of police knowing that secret drag racing tests were being performed on the streets of Detroit, or the testing that incited Australia’s 1972 Supercar Scare. You just can’t put a race around on the street. You can’t put a racing car like the Porsche 963 RSP on the public roads, it’s irresponsible.
What a crock.
Photo: Porsche
In 1974, Count Gregorio Rossi di Montelera, the heir to the Martini e Rossi firm (think: famous vermouth, sparkling wines, that racing livery) went to Porsche and made a deal with the folks in Stuttgart. He wanted a road-legal version of the 917 racing car that he could drive from the factory to Paris, France, on public roads. Porsche built the car using chassis no. 030, a test mule that had failed one race thanks to a suspension failure. The car had been in storage for a couple of years, so engineers removed the aerodynamic bits, fitted a silencer to the exhaust to keep the 5.o liter flat-twelve’s bark to a mildly deafening level, and tossed the Count the keys. Somehow the Porsche wound up registered with Alabama license plates (!) and a threat to keep the car out of the Heart of Dixie, and the interior was kitted up in tan leather.
Since then, 917-o30 has appeared every now and then at Goodwood, but the feat hasn’t been performed again – until now. Porsche has prepared a one-off version of the 963 Hypercar, dubbed the 963 RSP (the initials of Roger Penske). The 963 RSP has changes compared to the standard racer: it’s painted Martini Silver like the 917 was, features altered bodywork and a tan interior like the elder Porsche did, and features alterations that allow it to be used as a road car, including a raised suspension, headlights, taillights, and a horn.
With permission from French authorities and the support of the Automobile Club d’Ouest (the organization that runs the 24 Hours of LeMans), the duo took to the motorways of France on a drive to Sarthe, where they were displayed during the 24 Hours of LeMans. The 963 RSP will then return to Stuttgart, where it will be displayed at the Porsche Museum. Your next opportunity to see both the 963 RSP and 917-030 will be at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which will be held July 10-13, 2025.
Race cars are too obnoxious, temperamental, and uncontrollable for the street, eh? Yeah. Maybe it’s just me, but that smells like farm-fresh fertilizer on the wind.