Porsche turns its Le Mans hypercar to road trip-spec with 963 RSP

Porsche turns the 963 to a road legal hypercar

Some of the manufacturers racing at this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans seem to be into nostalgia these days.

There’s Toyota that will be racing their current hypercar with a livery inspired by the iconic Gran Turismo era GT-One. Then there’s Porsche, which decided to turn its 963 racecar into a road trip-spec hypercar with the 963 RSP.

You see, Porsche did this about 50 years ago. They had the 917, which was the most advanced endurance race car at the time. Along with Count Rossi di Montelera, they converted it for street use and drove it from the Porsche factory in Zuffenhausen to Paris in France. Now they’re doing it again with the 963, and making it as close as possible to the original 917 that went on a road trip.

That includes painting the carbon fiber and Kevlar bodywork to Martini Silver, and wrapping the cockpit with tan leather and Alcantara upholstery in similar spec to what Count Rossi chose 50 years ago. The RSP initials, on the other hand, are a tribute to motorsport legend Roger Penske, who was also part of the one-off 963 road car project.

Turning a bespoke race car into a bespoke road trip hypercar isn’t easy, as normally these speed machines don’t comply with local traffic laws and regulations. So Porsche raised the ride height, covered the wheel arches, fitted side mirrors, and added a horn to the 963 RSP so it could take on public roads. It even comes with license plates.

Underneath the skin, the Porsche 963 RSP’s 4.6-liter twin-turbo hybrid V8 powertrain remains unchanged, but the engine control unit was remapped so that in case the hypercar runs out of gas, it can be filled up with the usual pump gas you see on gasoline stations.

The 963 RSP is strictly a one-off, though, unlike what Aston Martin has done with the Valkyrie LM. It will be on public display during the 24 Hours of Le Mans race weekend before it returns to Stuttgart, where it will be displayed at the Porsche Museum. In July, the one-off will also be at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The only question now is, will Porsche drive it from Le Mans to Stuttgart, then to Goodwood? Guess that sounds like a good idea, right?