One-off road-legal Porsche 963 RSP unleashed  

Porsche has unwrapped its wildest hypercar yet, following the launch of its road-legal 2025 Porsche 963 RSP that’s based on the endurance racer set to compete at this year’s Le Mans 24 Hour. 

Replicating the one-off Porsche 917 road car it built for Count Gregorio Rossi Di Montelera in 1975, the new street-legal Porsche 963 RSP will once again be a one-off, looking almost identical to the German brand’s LMDh hypercar that competes in the World Endurance Championship (WEC). 

Like the real racer, the road-going 963 RSP is based on an LMP2-spec chassis made by Multimatic. Powered by a wild 500kW twin-turbo 4.6-litre V8 hybrid powertrain, it features a front e-motor that can deliver a further burst of 50kW of power on demand, while the small 1.35-kilowatt-hour battery claws back energy. 

There’s no word on whether the Porsche gets a quieter exhaust or carries over the deafening racer’s pipes. 

Performance figures have not been released for the one-of-one Porsche hypercar, but it’s thought the 963 RSP will be among the quickest Porsches ever, with a 0-100km/h sprint estimated to be around 2.5 seconds. Top speed, meanwhile, should be dependent on gearing, but could be as high as 360km/h. 

Created by Porsche’s Sonderwunsch (special wishes) division in Atlanta in the US, the lucky owner of the one-off creation is 88-year-old billionaire Roger Penske. The former race car driver and transport magnate also owns Porsche Penske Motorsport, the German brand’s official partner that races the 963 in America’s IMSA Sportscar Championship. 

Enabling it to be driven on the road, the 963 RSP has been adapted to feature a horn, indicators and brake lights, while the hybrid hypercar has its suspension fixed in its highest position. The Porsche also runs wet weather tyres that are road legal and mounted on 18-inch forged OZ wheels. 

To improve its ride on the road, the Porsche racer comes with Multimatic DSSV dampers that are set up to offer the softest setting available. 

Tweaks to the body include covering over the front fender vents that have a nasty habit of firing stones at the windscreen at speed. 

Look closer and you might also spot the reworked wing that loses its blanking plates and a proper enamel Porsche crest on the 963 RSP’s snout. 

Inside, the 963 ditches its button-activated drinks system and adopts an old-school cup holder. 

A nice touch is matching the ’75 917’s exterior and interior colour combo – that explains its Martini silver paint that is applied to the all-carbon-fibre body, and is combined with a traditional tan leather interior. 

To improve comfort the race carbon seat has extra padding, while the footwells and ceiling are wrapped in Alcantara. 

More leather is used to cover the competition-spec steering wheel and door panels. 

Instead of packaging a passenger seat, the 963 RSP gets a leather-wrapped shelf that Porsche suggests is the perfect home for your laptop, helmet or removeable steering wheel. 

Other detailed changes include cool 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. 

In a final nice touch for its VIP owner, Porsche has thrown in a matching helmet and a 963 RSP Snap-On toolset that gets tan leather-wrapped handles. 

Instead of being fully homologated to be street legal, the 963 RSP has been given special permission for use on French roads, allowing the car to be driven “under special circumstances and in accordance with local requirements”. A hint that the wild hypercar will become a museum piece, rather than Penske’s daily driver. 

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, including a blast on the roads that make up the Circuit de la Sarthe. 

Set 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. 

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