Porsche 963 Marks the Brand’s Much-Anticipated Return to Endurance Racing
Brand new Porsche 963 is set to debut later this month with sky-high expectations for success, given the brand’s history.
It’s been a while since Porsche competed at the highest level of endurance racing, and a whopping five years since it claimed its last victory at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, we always knew that it would one day return to those ranks, and that long-awaited debut is set to take place at the upcoming 24 Hours of Daytona later this month. When it does, the brand new Porsche 963 will be lined up on the grid, ready to leave its mark on the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Like the 919 Hybrid that preceded it, the Porsche 963 is a full-bore, no-holds-barred, highly-capable machine, but there are some notable differences that set these two racers apart. The 963 is an LMDh-platform racer that’s set to compete in the new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class in the WeatherTech Championship, and it’s powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.6-liter V8 based on the engine from the road-going 918 Spyder, which is mated to a single-source high-performance hybrid powertrain that utilizes components from Williams Advanced Engineering, Bosch and Xtrac. Total output comes in at 670 horsepower.
Interestingly, Porsche notes that this powertrain not only fits within the class rules and is easily packaged in the LMDh chassis, but it’s also more economically feasible to run when compared to the high-tech four-cylinder-based setup present in the 919 Hybrid. Like all LMDh cars, the Porsche 963 rides on one of four approved chassis – in this case, the Multimatic LMP2 – and features a motor generator unit (MGU) mounted on the rear axle that feeds kinetic energy to a lithium-ion battery, while a pneumatically actuated seven-speed racing transmission sends power to all four wheels. Total weight comes in at 2,270, sans fuel and driver.
Fittingly, the Porsche 963 will make its debut at Daytona in partnership with Penske Racing, a pairing that hearkens back to the mid-2000s, when Porsche and Penske teamed up to compete in the RS Spyder – with which the two racked up 16 class wins. However, it’s just the beginning, as more customer racers are expected to enter the fold in the coming months and years. As one might imagine, given the history here, Porsche and Penske both expect big things from the brand new racer in its debut season, too.
“With the new LMDh 963, we’ve set our sights on the 20th overall win in France,” said Thomas Laudenbach, head of Porsche Motorsport. “We also want to win titles in the North American IMSA series and the World Endurance Championship.”
Photos: Porsche
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