Porsche recently introduced the street-legal 963 RSP—an extreme, one-off version of its Le Mans and IMSA championship-winning 963 hypercar. In the latest episode of “The Driver’s Seat” by Hagerty, Henry Catchpole got the opportunity to drive this one-off road-legal 963.
This special project was developed by Porsche AG, Porsche Penske Motorsport, and Porsche Cars North America in collaboration with motorsport icon Roger Penske, whose initials the car proudly bears. The car pays homage to the iconic Porsche 917 of the early 1970s and debuted fittingly on the streets near the Circuit de la Sarthe alongside the Count Rossi 917. Mechanically, the 963 RSP retains the race-spec 4.6L twin-turbo V8 hybrid powertrain, derived from the RS Spyder and later featured in the 918 Spyder, producing 680 horsepower.
This modern reinterpretation is built on the same architecture as Porsche’s Le Mans- and IMSA-winning 963 prototype but reworked with bespoke touches that make it suitable, under special permission, for public roads in France. To make the car road-legal for its French debut, engineers modified the control units for lighting, raised the ride height, softened the suspension, and equipped it with Michelin tires designed for wet weather. Even a horn and license plate mounts were added.
