The term ‘race car for the road’ has been given new meaning, as Porsche has bolted number plates – alongside revised bodywork and a leather-lined cabin – to its fastest Le Mans car.
Porsche has revealed a road-going version of its race-winning Le Mans car, the 963, inspired by a similar one-off version of its 917 ancestor 50 years ago.
But the 963 RSP will remain a one-off – owned by US motorsport legend Roger Penske, who lends his initials to the car’s name – with no plans to develop a full production version of the car.
Porsche remains coy on when its next flagship hypercar is due – as a successor to the 918 Spyder of 2013 – and if it will be hybrid or electric, the latter akin to 2023’s Mission X concept.
The RSP takes the Le Mans-bound 963 and converts it for road use, with revised bodywork, a more luxurious leather-trimmed cabin, raised suspension to clear potholes, and tweaks to the lights and software.
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The 4.6-litre twin-turbo V8 hybrid system is retained from the race car, but it has been tuned to feel more docile at city speeds, and run on regular petrol, rather than race fuel.
It has not been re-engineered to meet the same emissions rules as normal production cars in Europe, so it wears special French manufacturer licence plates allowing it to be driven on the road only in “special circumstances”.
The 963 RSP is pitched as a modern tribute to a 917 – the 963 Le Mans car’s 1970s equivalent – converted to road use in 1975 at the request of Count Rossi, an Italian businessman and former powerboat racer.
He was the heir of the Rossi family, which played a leading role in the Martini and Rossi wine company – the same Martini known for sponsoring some of the world’s most famous race cars, wearing signature red, white, light blue and dark blue colours.
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The modern race car for the road matches the colour scheme of its 1970s forebear, with a silver and black exterior over a tan leather and Alcantara interior.
Whereas the racing 963 is wrapped, the RSP is painted in the same Martini Silver colour as Count Rossi’s 917 – not an easy task due to the modern race car’s Kevlar and carbon-fibre body.
Smaller components such as hinges and wing supports are finished in satin black, while 3D-printed ‘963 RSP’ branding is applied to the rear of the car.
Drawing inspiration from the 917, the 963 RSP gains new, smaller vents in its wheel arches to cover the exposed sections on the race car.
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The carbon-fibre blanking plates mandated by racing rules within the competition car’s spoiler have been removed, an enamel Porsche badge is now affixed to the nose, and licence plate mounting points have been added.
It sits on Michelin rain racing tyres – with grooves, rather than full slicks – with 1970s-era logos on its sidewalls, wrapping forged OZ wheels.
Inside, the race car’s stripped-out cabin has been softened for road use, with tan leather and Alcantara upholstery – and even a detachable, 3D-printed cupholder sized to hold a Porsche-branded travel mug.
The single-piece driver’s seat is trimmed in leather, with cushioning along its centre, a fixed headrest, and climate control, while Alcantara has been used on the roof lining, pillars and footwell cushions.
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Tan leather now wraps around the steering wheel, and there is space beside the driver to store the steering wheel, included Peltor headset, and a platform to fit the laptop used to start the car.
Details include an alloy plaque on one of the doors to denote the chassis number and where the car was built, and “bespoke end plates for the ventilation system” claimed to “mimic the styling of the fan on top of the 917’s flat-12 engine,” Porsche says.
Included with the car is a custom-fitted helmet finished in the same Martini Silver as the bodywork, and a bespoke Snap-On toolkit.
Under the skin, the suspension has been raised to its maximum setting to clear bumps on public roads, with its Multimatic DSSV dampers softened for a “more compliant ride”.
The headlights have been tweaked for road use, now accommodating indicators.
Shared with the race car is the 4.6-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 – 80 per cent of which is derived from the 918 Spyder road car – assisted by a single electric motor placed between the engine and seven-speed sequential gearbox.
It’s fed by a 1.35kWh, 800-volt lithium-ion battery, which can provide a boost of 30kW to 50kW – but when activated it automatically decreases the power from the petrol engine to keep overall acceleration the same, under racing rules.
Porsche says the hybrid V8 drivetrain “remains in standard race tune”, but “power delivery from the MGU [electric motor] has been remapped to provide smooth delivery more appropriate for road use”.
It can also now run on petrol available from a regular service station, rather than high-end, high-octane race fuel.
The Porsche 963 RSP has made its public debut on the roads near the Le Mans race track in France, alongside Count Rossi’s road-converted 917.
It will go on display at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race next weekend, before moving to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, and then the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK in mid-July.
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