Porsche and Roger Penske have celebrated the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans by teaming up for a one-of-one race car built for the streets. This is the 963 RSP.
According to a Friday announcement, the 963 RSP takes inspiration from the IMSA championship and WEC championship-winning 963 Hypercar. It drew further inspiration from the 917, which Mark Donohue used to set the closed-course speed record in 1975.
The initials RSP are a fitting choice. They stand for Roger S. Penske, the championship-winning team owner who Porsche chose to be the customer of this one-of-one creation.
This project began with a conversation between Porsche Cars North America President and CEO Timo Resch, Porsche Motorsport Vice President Thomas Laudenbach, and Director of Factory Racing Urs Kuratle.
This trio took the idea to Penske and Porsche Penske Motorsport Managing Director Jonathan Diuguid. The project took off from that point and led to the 963 RSP’s debut on June 6. Three-time Le Mans winner Timo Bernhard drove the one-of-one race car on the streets near Circuit de la Sarthe. The original 917 also took part in the special drive.
“This really started out as a ‘what if?’ – a passion project by a small team of enthusiasts at Penske and at Porsche who together imagined a version of the 963 that really resembled as closely as possible the spirit and appearance of the Count Rossi 917,” Resch said.
“The 917 from the story was every inch a race car – albeit one driven on the road – and we took the same approach with the 963 RSP. It uses beautiful materials of the best quality available, but is still every bit a race car underneath.”
The design process created challenges for Porsche
As Porsche explained, bringing the 963 RSP to life led to some challenges. One of the biggest was painting the exterior of the race car instead of wrapping it. The carbon fiber and Kevlar bodywork is very thin in certain areas out of necessity.
Porsche still chose to paint the exterior a historically accurate Martini Silver so that it would match the original 917. The automaker then added a triple-layer lacquer.
Porsche also altered the fender vents to further match the 917. The automaker added an enamel Porsche badge on the front, another shared detail.
The interior of the 963 RSP features a mix of soft tan leather and Alcantara, a suede-like fabric. The carbon fiber seat features added cushioning for enhanced comfort. These seats also feature air conditioning to match the 963 Hypercar.
One major difference between the race car and the street version is the addition of a 3D-printed cupholder. This can fit a Porsche travel mug. The interior even features a special platform built for the Peltor headset and the steering wheel.
The 963 RSP also required modifications to make it usable on public roads. The control unit now features the ability to control the turn signals. Porsche also modified the headlights for public use instead of for endurance races.
The engineers raised the ride height of the 963 RSP to its maximum setting. This further supported the ability to drive the car on the streets of France.
According to Porsche, the 963 RSP will be on public display at the Circuit de la Sarthe during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It will then head to Stuttgart to spend time at the Porsche Museum.
The July schedule will feature the one-of-one heading to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the United Kingdom.