World’s fastest hybrid unveiled: Wild Porsche 963 RSP is a Le Mans racing car with number plates
Porsche has unwrapped a road-legal 2025 Porsche 963 RSP that’s little more than carbon copy of the endurance racer that it has built to conquer the Le Mans 24 Hour.
Paying tribute to the legendary one-off Porsche 917 road car it built for Count Gregorio Rossi Di Montelera back in 1975, the new street legal Porsche 963 RSP is once again based on the car-maker’s fastest, most advanced racing car.
That explains why it looks almost identical to the racer currently fighting it out in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) in the LMDh hypercar category.
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That means beneath the skin the 963 RSP is race car royalty. Based on an LMP2-spec chassis made by Multimatic, the hybrid endurance racer comes with a punchy 500kW twin-turbo 4.6-litre V8 hybrid powertrain that features a front e-motor that can deliver a further burst of 50kW of power on demand, while the small 1.35kWh battery claws back energy.
Porsche hasn’t disclosed if engineers have bolted on a quieter set of pipes, or if the road car sounds as unhinged as the racer.
The German car-maker has also been shy when it comes to performance figures, not disclosing how quick the 963 RSP is but the answer is expected to be ‘very’. Off the line we expect a 0-100km/h time of less than 2.5 seconds, while suitable gearing could allow for a top speed of more than 360km/h.
Created by Porsche’s Sinderwunsch (special wishes) division in Atlanta in the US, the lucky owner of the one-off creation is none other than 88-year-old billionaire and former racing driver Roger Searle Penske.
Penske also happens to own Porsche Penske Motorsport – the German brand’s official partner that races the competition-spec 963 in America’s IMSA Sportscar Championship.
Tailoring the 963 RSP for road use, the hybrid hypercar has been adapted to feature a horn, indicators and brake lights, while its suspension has been jacked-up into its highest position.
The Porsche runs wet weather tyres that are road-legal and are mounted on 18-inch forged OZ wheels.
In an attempt to cope with bumpy roads that are alien to most racers, the Porsche hypercar comes with Multimatic DSSV dampers that are set up to offer the softest setting available.
Modifications to the exterior of the 963 are surprisingly small. The front fender vents that have been sealed because they had a nasty habit of firing stones at the windscreen at speed.
There’s also a reworked wing that loses its blanking plates and a proper enamel Porsche crest on the 963 RSP’s nose – and that’s it.
Within, there’s no longer a button activated drinks system with engineers adding an old-school cupholder instead. The choice of tan leather and the Martini silver paint is a nod to the Count’s 1975 917, if you’re wondering, while the racey carbon bucket now feature extra padding and the footwells and ceiling are wrapped in Alcantara.
More leather is used to cover the competition-spec steering wheel and door panels.
Instead of squeezing in a passenger seat the 963 RSP gets a leather lined shelf that Porsche suggests is the perfect home for your laptop, helmet or removeable steering wheel.
Other detailed changes include air vents that are shaped like the 917’s fan blades, there’s also an alloy plaque on the door detailing the date and location of its construction.
If that’s not enough to delight Mr Penske, Porsche has thrown in a matching helmet, and 963 RSP Snap-On toolset that gets tan leather wrapped handles – all for an undisclosed price.
Despite being more road legal than the racer, Porsche says its newest creation hasn’t been fully homologated for street use.
Instead, the 963 RSP has been granted special permission for use on French roads, allowing it to be driven “under special circumstances and in accordance with local requirements”. That suggests Penske’s won’t ever be able to pop down to his local drive-thru when he takes delivery.
Set for an official reveal at the Le Mans 24 Hour race, to build the anticipation for the world-famous endurance racer, three-time Le Mans winner Timo Bernhard, took to public roads in the one-off 963 RSP that included a blast along the roads that make up the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Se to be on display during the Le Mans 24 hour, the 963 RSP will then head to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart before making a star appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
