The Porsche 963 RSP Is A Street-Legal WEC Racecar

Could you picture having Porsche build you a version of its Le Mans racecar for the road? Sounds borderline dreamy, right? As it turns out, Porsche will do it for you under its Sonderwunsch programme, given you have enough money to spare. This is exactly more or less what happened between billionaire Roger Penske, the 88-year-old owner of Team Penske Racing and the German marque. The result is glorious – meet Porsche's 963 RSP.

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The Porsche 963 RSP has been built for Roger Penske

Porsche has unveiled the 963 RSP, a road-legal version of their IMSA championship and WEC championship-winning 963 hypercar. Built for Roger Penske, the car will be limited to one sole unit. According to the manufacturer, the idea for the car originated during a trackside meeting between Timo Resch, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America, Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President, Porsche Motorsport, and Urs Kuratle, Director, Factory Racing LMDh at Road Atlanta.

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The 963 RSP is touted as the spiritual successor to the road-legal 917K owned by Count Rossi

These men started imagining a road-going version of their 963 hypercar, which would also in turn be a spiritual successor to the ultra-legendary road-legal 917K owned by Count Rossi. The trio then approached Roger Penske and Jonathan Diuguid, Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport with the idea, who were both on board with the idea of developing the car. Penske was, in turn, also nominated as the customer for the car, with the car being named in his honour.

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The road-legal 917K was commissioned by Count Rossi in 1975

The Porsche 917K was commissioned by Italian businessman and Martini heir Gregorio Rossi di Montelera - known more simply as “Count Rossi”. Built in 1975, the car was based on 917K chassis 30, which originally went racing. The car was then modified for road use, with changes such as a new ‘Martini Silver’ colour scheme, a tan leather interior commissioned from Hermes, additional mirrors, side indicators and even a horn. It also carried the mandatory spare tyre beneath its rear engine cover that housed the iconic flat-12 engine. What’s even more remarkable is the fact that the car is still driven on a regular basis by its current owner in the south of France, and recently underwent restoration to preserve many of the original elements.

The hypercar is still powered by the same powertrain as the race car, in the same state of tune

Powering the 963 RSP is the same hybrid 4.6-litre twin-turbocharged V8 in the same state of tune as the WEC contender. The powertrain churns out 680 hp and comes mated to a motor generator unit (MGU) and a 1.35 kWh battery. Also remarkable is how much the road-going version is similar to the track-spec version, as the only mechanical and electronic changes made to the car include raised ride height, softened dampers, reprogrammed control unit only changing the way the headlights work, the fitment of a horn, and the usage of Michelin wet weather compound tyres.

Adding to the charm of the car is the fact that it is finished in a shade of Martini Silver, and is meant to commemorate the exact same colour scheme as the original 917K. The 963 RSP retains most of the design bits of the original endurance race car, although to make the car look more like the 917, Porsche has made a few modifications. These include the incorporation of unique vents on the front fender, removing the carbon fibre blanking plates that sit within the rear wing, and adding an enamel Porsche logo on the hood. The company also went so far as to add 1970s-era Michelin logos for the tyre walls.

The interior of the car is finished in leather and Alcantara and even has a cup holder

What’s properly lovely, however, is the interior of the car, finished in soft tan leather and Alcantara. The leg cushions in the footwell as well as the roof lining and pillars have been retrimmed in light Alcantara while the steering wheel. What’s more? Porsche has also added a detachable 3D-printed cup holder.