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Porsche 963 for the street: Penske to take delivery on road version of 200 mph race car
Posted by Talbot Payne on June 7, 2025
Bloomfield Hills-based Roger Penske will take delivery this summer on a street-focused version of the Daytona 24 Hour-winning Porsche 963, the race car that Team Penske and Porsche campaign in international Hypercar prototype racing, the fastest sportscar class in the world.
Modified at Porsche’s North American headquarters in Atlanta from a carbon-fiber chassis made at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen, Germany, racing production facility, the 200-mph-plus, hybrid Hypercar is a one-off — its powertrain and aerodynamics matching the race car, but upgraded with a luxurious leather and Alcantara interior complete with turn signals and a cupholder.
Porsche, Porsche
Badged the 963 RSP (in honor of Penske’s initials, Roger Searle Penske), it is effectively the fastest car ever made for the street. The 963 race car costs $2.9 million and Penske’s unique street cruiser is likely valued at much more.
In an interview, Penske said he had seen his new wheels being made at Porsche Classic, the brand’s Atlanta restoration facility: “It certainly looks and feels like a true Porsche sportscar. I am so honored that Porsche produced this special 963 RSP — I think I will always have a special connection to this vehicle, and certainly to everyone at Porsche.”
He said he looks forward to bringing the car to the Motor City as part of his family’s private car collection.
Roger Penske with a Porsche Hypercar after a Porsche Penske Motorsport press conference at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France on June 14, 2024. Penske is getting a a street-focused version of the Porsche 963 to add to his collection. Chris DuMond, Special To The Detroit News
“I’m not sure I would drive the 963 RSP as a daily commuter, though that certainly would be a fun drive to the office,” he smiled.
Penske is scheduled to take delivery stateside this summer at the Monterey Historics in California. Following its unveiling Friday, the 963 RSP will be on public display at Le Mans’ Circuit de la Sarthe during the 24 Hours of Le Mans before it returns to Stuttgart to be shown at the Porsche Museum. In July, the car will appear alongside the 917 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England, before crossing the pond.
The Hypercar marks the second time Porsche has created a road version of its ultimate race car. The first was in 1975 when the German performance maker produced a street-legal Porsche 917 (which dominated international racing of that era) that was bought by Count Rossi, heir of the Martini & Rossi liquor fortune.
The eccentric Count then hit the road, driving from Zuffenhausen to Paris in the 580-horsepower, 12-cylinder 917.
In a brief street drive Friday near Le Mans, France, the 963 RSP debuted alongside that legendary 917 — just as the endurance racing world gathers for the week-long lead-up to the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race, June 14-15.
Notably, the 963 race car competed on the downtown streets of Detroit May 31 as part of the Detroit Grand Prix. Hitting speeds of over 180-mph on Jefferson Avenue, the Porsche threw up sparks as it bottomed repeatedly down the bumpy, ¾-mile-long straightaway.
Richard Pardon, Porsche
“It’s banging the skid plate through there at nearly 200 mph,” said British race driver Nick Tandy, who co-piloted the #7 963 with Brazilian Felipe Nasr to fourth place in a thrilling race. “You can feel it coming up through the cabin. It’s rough.”
Together with Porsche, Team Penske is seeking to bring “The Captain” (as employees fondly refer to their chairman) his first Le Mans win, one of the few baubles that has eluded him in an illustrious racing career that includes 20 Indy 500 wins (Porsche has won almost as many Le Mans races — 19). It is the third Le Mans attempt by Porsche Penske — an event won by Ferrari the last two years.
“We have enjoyed a terrific relationship with Porsche dating back to 1972,” said Penske, recalling the dynamic duo’s first collaboration on the legendary 917/30 Can Am championship car. “With such a remarkable partnership continuing to this day, we felt it was time to create the most exciting car we could imagine.”
The Porsche 963 RSP is a street version of the 963 race car (shown) that competed in the May 31 Detroit GP. Henry Payne, The Detroit News
The 963 RSP will be on public display at Le Mans’ Circuit de la Sarthe during the 24 Hours of Le Mans before it returns to Stuttgart to be shown at the Porsche Museum. In July, the car will appear alongside the 917 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England, before heading stateside.
Penske is scheduled to take delivery stateside this summer at the Monterey Historics in California and add the 963 RSP to his private collection of over 100 cars.
Managing director of Porsche Penske Motorsport, Jonathan Diuguid, has overseen the 963 racing program that competes in both North America’s IMSA Weathertech SportsCar Series here and the World Endurance Championship overseas. He said Penske his boss has been a big supporter of the 963 program from the start.
“He also got an opportunity to drive the Spyder (the Porsche RS Spyder, the last championship-winning sportscar on which Porsche-Penske collaborated from 2006-2008) at Goodwood a few years back,” said Diuguid. “So when the team planted the seed that there might be an opportunity for him to drive a 963, I think the flower started to grow.”
Richard Pardon, Porsche
The 963 won the IMSA series last year and has dominated so far in 2025, winning five of the first six races — including Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Porsche Penske is bringing three 963s to compete in next week’s Le Mans.
“Just like the 917, I wanted this car to be authentic to its origin and have as few changes to it as possible,” continued Penske. “When we got into the project, the differences in the two generations of race cars provided a great challenge. What emerged is a car that has lost none of its edge and is exciting whether on the track or on the road.”
While retaining most of the mid-engine race car’s dynamics – including the ferocious, 670-horspower, 4.6-liter, twin-turbo V-8 hybrid powertrain – the street car boasts significant changes to make it more comfortable.
Porsche, Porsche
The 963 RSP will not be started by a key to to the left of the steering wheel like Porsche production cars such as the 911 supercar and Macan SUV. That tradition started with left-hand-drive, 1960s Porsche race cars, which strategically located the key on the left so drivers could more quickly fire up the car upon entering the cabin in the pits.
Not only is the modern 963 RSP not started by a left-hand key, it is started from a laptop — just like the race car.
While 963 racers are wrapped in red-and-white trim, the 963 RSP is painted the same Martini Silver as its 917 forebear — a tricky process given the car’s thin, lightweight carbon fiber shell. The car has been lifted slightly — and its Multimatic spool-valve shocks softened — for a more compliant street drive. Tires? The same Michelin rain tires as the race car. Also missing from the 963 RSP are the race car’s fender cutouts — necessary on track to mitigate high-speed flips — but which take away from its aesthetic appearance on the road.
In a nod to tradition, an enamel Porsche badge is added to the nose, a detailed shared with the 1975 917.
Complete with headlight and taillight modifications to suit public roads — as well as turn signals, a horn, and front/rear license plates — the 963 RSP met permissions criteria from French authorities to ply public roads for its reveal today.
“An experience that will stay with me for a lifetime,” said Le Mans winner and Porsche racer Timo Bernhard, who was at the wheel of the 963 RSP for its first road miles. “Driving down a public road with a 917 beside me — it felt unreal. The car behaved perfectly — it felt a little friendlier and more forgiving than the normal 963 — and felt super special and a lot more comfortable, especially as I was not needing all my safety gear.”
Jordan Lenssen
The comfortable cockpit is a mix of luxurious appointments and raw race features.
Like the race car the 963 RSP features a single piece, air-conditioned carbon seat — but it is trimmed in leather with a fixed headrest mounted on the bulkhead behind the seat. The steering wheel — bristling with operating functions — is true to the racer but has been finished in leather. The aforementioned cupholder is 3D-printed and capable of holding a Porsche travel mug.
“This really started out as a ‘what if?’ — a passion project by a small team of enthusiasts at Penske and at Porsche who together imagined a version of the 963 that really resembled as closely as possible the spirit and appearance of the Count Rossi 917,” said Porsche Cars North America President and CEO Timo Resch, who conceived of the 963 RSP. “The 917 was every inch a race car — albeit one driven on the road — and we took the same approach with the 963 RSP.”
No word on whether Penske intends to cruise on Woodward this August.
Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.