Porsche Made a Le Mans Racer for the Street (Again)
Half the fun of owning an expensive car is driving it, but for owners of the most sought-after classic racecars, that can’t happen on a public road. Porsche’s new 963 RSP aims to change that with road-legal construction and a fully built interior.
Half the fun of owning an expensive car is driving it, but for owners of the most sought-after classic racecars, that can’t happen on a public road. Porsche’s new 963 RSP aims to change that with road-legal construction and a fully built interior.
While we’re not talking about a multi-million-dollar coachbuilt Ferrari racer, the 963 RSP is a legit LMDh car massaged for road use. Porsche worked with Penske Motorsport on the effort, hence the name that follows Roger Searle Penske’s initials.
Porsche had to build a bespoke chassis for the car, as it does not rely on a race-used tub. The early stages of that work took place at Porsche Cars North America in Atlanta. The interior features leather and Alcantara, a 3D-printed cupholder, and more.
The car’s body was massaged by changing some of the aerodynamic pieces required for racing, including the race car’s fender vents, which had to be reshaped. Despite those changes, the car’s engine is a direct descendant of the automaker’s V8 race engine. Here, it’s a twin-turbo 4.6-liter mill with a hybrid system and a seven-speed sequential gearbox.
We don’t have power output specs for the engine yet, but it’s capable of up to around 700 horsepower in race tune. The car will make appearances at Le Mans, the Porsche Museum, and Goodwood, before heading to its final home in Penske’s garage.
[Images: Porsche]
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