PORSCHE 963 RSP: A STREET-LEGAL HYPERCAR LOVE LETTER TO THE 917 AND THE MADNESS OF LE MANS
In the shadows of the world’s greatest endurance race, Porsche has dropped a bombshell. Meet the Porsche 963 RSP - a one-off, road-legal, full-fat prototype weapon with a soul pulled straight from Le Mans history and a name that tips its cap to motorsport royalty: Roger S. Penske. This isn’t some concept tease or marketing puff-piece. This is a real car, built by a crack squad from Porsche AG, Porsche Penske Motorsport, and Porsche Cars North America. And if it looks like it could lap the Circuit de la Sarthe blindfolded, that’s because its DNA is pure racer. The 963 RSP is based on the LMDh-class Porsche 963, the car that won races in both IMSA and WEC trim. But this isn’t just a race car with plates - it’s a respectful modern riff on one of the most outrageous stories in Porsche lore. Let’s rewind to 1975. A man known as Count Gregorio Rossi di Montelera took delivery of a Porsche 917 (yes, that 917), and decided he’d rather drive it through Paris traffic than watch it gather dust. In full Martini livery. On public roads. You can’t make this stuff up. The 963 RSP is built in tribute to that glorious act of lunacy. Unlike the liveried competition cars, the 963 RSP is painted - an engineering headache given the wafer-thin carbon/Kevlar bodywork, but Porsche doesn’t half-step. The finish? A custom Martini Silver, paying homage to the Count’s 917. The details are fan service for the faithful: a proper enamel Porsche crest on the nose, blacked-out fender vents, blank-free rear wings, and even 1970s-style Michelin logos on its wet-spec 18-inch tyres. Inside, it's all tan leather and Alcantara, a far cry from the bare carbon you'd expect. It's opulent, in that old-school motorsport aristocrat way. Think race car meets leather club chair. The seats remain air-conditioned (because it’s still a Porsche), the steering wheel gets a stitched leather wrap, and there’s a bespoke panel to house the Peltor headset, laptop control unit, and a custom carbon helmet for Roger Penske himself. Even the 3D-printed cupholder for a Porsche-branded travel mug is in on the act. And the vents? They’re shaped like the iconic flat-12 fan from the 917. Because, of course they are.
The RSP wasn’t just wheeled into a museum – it was driven on public roads around Le Mans. That meant raising the ride height to its max setting, softening the Multimatic DSSV dampers, and tweaking the control unit to allow for functional turn signals and road-spec headlights. Even the hybrid powertrain was remapped to run on pump fuel with smoother delivery for traffic rather than qualifying laps. Still, it hasn’t gone soft. The hybrid system remains fully intact: a 4.6-litre twin-turbo V8 derived from the RS Spyder and 918 Spyder, paired with an MGU supplied by Bosch, an 800V battery system from Williams Advanced Engineering, and a 7-speed sequential Xtrac gearbox. It’s a rolling poster child for the current breed of electrified endurance monsters – only now it can legally pull up at a boulangerie. Power on tap is officially around 680 hp, but that’s almost beside the point. It’s how it delivers that power - with instantaneous hybrid thrust in short bursts, over 8,000 rpm of flat-crank fury, and a soundtrack that’s part spaceship, part Stuttgart opera. Even the toolkit is bespoke. Porsche crafted a Snap-On set finished in Martini Silver with leather-wrapped handles, complete with foam inserts for the specialist gear needed to service the car. It’s obsessive in the best way. A small alloy plaque inside the door records its construction date and place, as if anyone’s ever going to forget. This isn’t a production car. This is rolling art. A Le Mans trophy with wheels. The 963 RSP is a masterstroke - an outrageous, reverent, utterly unnecessary and totally brilliant reminder that Porsche doesn’t just build cars. It tells stories. This one, inspired by a Count, a Martini-liveried legend, and a bold road trip through Paris 50 years ago, might just be its most romantic yet. One car. No price. No limits. And absolutely no chill.
Take a look at the YouTube video that was created before the actual car was released, of course these chaps know what they're talking about, evident if you do actually click play on the video: Street Legal Porsche 963 RSP Hypercar Will Be Revealed At Le Mans! | ARC DRIVER
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