Porsche unveils road-legal hypercar 50 years after original won world titles – but there’s a catch
PORSCHE has shocked the motoring world by unveiling a new road legal hypercar.
What’s more is that it’s spun off the a motor that’s won multiple endurance racing world titles – but there’s a catch.
The Porsche 963 RSP is unlike anything you can currently purchase – because only one has been made.
It’s a version of the manufacturers WEC and ISMA championship winning machine.
And it’s been built to mark 50 years since Count Rossi drove the trailblazing Porsche 917 from Zuffenhausen to Paris.
Like that all-conquering motor, this one’s been made road legal.
Porsche’s North American boss Timo Resch said: “How could we reimagine the 917’s story in today’s time?
“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 963 features significant changes over the car on which its based.
In terms of the engine, the carmaker had to allow the 4.5-litre, twin-turbo V8 hybrid to run on regular unleaded rather than race fuel.
While not an easy undertaking, the 918 Spyder-derived V8, e-motor and battery combo delivers a whopping 671bhp.
The road height was also adjusted to make it suitable for general roads and the dampers softened.
The control unit was reprogrammed too to allow for the headlights and taillights to operate closer to those of a motor on the road.
But its the interior that departs most from the original race car.
In the entirely bespoke cabin, you’ll find soft tan leather with a single piece driver’s seat clad with additional cushioning and a fixed headrest.
You’ll find a special panel next to the driver that stores the steering wheel as well as a helmet and car aficionados will spot the nods to the 917.
The biggest tribute comes in the form of the exterior colour that’s the same ‘Martini Silver’ as Count Rossi’s 917.
This one’s been painted too, a unique challenge because of the carbon fibre and Kevlar bodywork.
The bodywork also had to be modified to cover the wheel arches, headlights and tail lights added as well as closed-off banking plates on the rear wing and mounting points for the license plates.
An enamel Porsche badge can be found on the nose and proper wet road tyres wrapped around 18 inch racing wheels.
ONE-OF-A-KIND ‘SPECIAL’ MOTOR
The 963 RSP gets its name from the involvement of American auto racing team owner Roger Searle Penske on the project.
Resch explained he called on Penske for “support” in the car’s construction, with the racing expert ensuring the classic race car’s character was not changed for the new model.
The Porsche boss said that as Penske’s involvement increased, the company realised he would be the perfect, and only, customer for the car.
So while it was never intended to be a fully road-legal 963, Porsche received an exemption from the EPA in the US as it understood “how special” the car is.
Despite this, it is not a fully road-registered car – and it needed special dispensation to run in France at the Le Mans 24hr weekend.
For now, the car is expected to remain one-of-a-kind, with a Porsche spokesperson telling Top Gear that wide-scale selling would “change the character” of the iconic motor.