Porsche Penske Motorsport have today unveiled the Porsche 963 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England, with the intention of hunting overall victories in some of the world’s most prestigious endurance races. Two of the LMDh-spec prototypes will race in each of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA) in 2023.
Designs of the new 963 are derived from the victorious models of the 956 and 962 classics, and boasts a 4.6 litre, Biturbo V8, which Porsche reveal “is based on the high-performance 918 Spyder hybrid sports car. Its DNA goes back to the RS Spyder racing car, with which Porsche and Team Penske notched up many victories between 2005 and 2008.”
The 500kW racer will be fitted with a Multimatic chassis, one of four approved suppliers for IMSA and WEC racing. Michelin is also supporting Porsche in the development of the car, with the tyres being used exclusively for the LMDh category for each of the championships.
Vice-President of Motorsport for Porsche, Thomas Laudenbach, recognises the prototype is showing great potential but work is still ongoing. “After 7,889 test kilometres during the first half of 2022, we’re on a very good path but there is still work to be done before the start of next season,” he says.
“Our new Porsche 963 should continue the legacy of legendary models such as the 917, 935, 956, 962 and the 919 Hybrid. I’m positive that we’ll be well-positioned when it comes to technology and we’ve also created the relevant team structures to set us up for wins in the thrilling competition between many manufacturers and different concepts.”
The race-debut of the 963 is expected at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January. In the interim, the WEC will permit testing in Bahrain this November, offering a chance to see the progress of the Team Penske Porsche. Testing and development will continue until this takes place, both at the Mooresville, North Carolina, base for the two North American entries, and Mannheim, Germany, for the two WEC entries.
With 19 overall 24 Hours of Le Mans victories, Porsche will be aiming big in the 100th year of the event next year, and hoping to further extend their crown as the most successful manufacturer over Audi and Ferrari, who each hold 12 .
The newly-defined top IMSA category, that of the Grand Touring Prototype, will allow LMDh-spec cars to compete alongside prototypes with either Le Man’s Hypercar (LMH) or Automobile Club de I’Ouest (ACO) specifications for overall honors. The Grand Touring Prototype category, being introduced in 2023, succeeds that of the Daytona Prototype International. Such a change will allow Porsche to not only extend on their overall Le Man’s victories in the WEC, but also extend on their successes in North America where they have won the iconic 24 Hours of Daytona 18 times.
Expectations are extremely high,” acknowledges Jonathan Diuguid, the Managing Director of Porsche Penske Motorsport. “Not only from the public but also from Porsche and Team Penske, who have written great motorsport chapters together in the past.”
“We’ll have powerful driver crews in the four factory cars. The collaboration with our long-standing tyre partner Michelin and the chassis manufacturer Multimatic works flawlessly,” says Urs Kuratle, Director of Factory Motorsport LMDh.
“The Porsche 963 should be homologated this autumn. Until then, we want to make further progress with test drives and gain additional insights. We can hardly wait for our first outing.”