The Porsche 963 RSP Is An Actual Racing Car For The Road

The term ‘racing car for the road’ gets thrown around a lot in car circles, normally in reference to something with a half-cage and a fire extinguisher and some slightly more aggressive tyres. The Porsche 963 RSP, though, really is a racing car for the road.

Created by Porsche’s Sonderwunsch special order division and Penske Motorsport, the US outfit that runs its factory endurance programme, the 963 RSP is inspired by a similar treatment given to the legendary Porsche 917K endurance racer in the 1970s. It takes Porsche’s latest top-flight endurance racer and gives it a makeover designed to make it legal – and just a little bit usable – on the road.

That process began with the bodywork, with the RSP receiving new wheel arch vents to allow for better airflow management and the deletion of the race-regulation blanking plates in the rear wing. Slightly less exciting, but just as pragmatic additions are mounting points for number plates.

Underneath, the RSP has had its ride height raised – although we still wouldn’t fancy tackling a multi-storey in it – and the race-grade adjustable Multimatic dampers have been left in their softest setting. It rides on road-legal and rain-friendly tyres, too, wearing retro Michelin logos in a nod to the car’s 1970s inspo.

Rather remarkably, the powertrain is basically unchanged from the racing car, a 4.6-litre twin-turbo V8 paired with an MGU hybrid system. It helps that the engine already shares 80 per cent of its components with a road car, the 918 Spyder.

It’s nonetheless impressive, though, that the only major changes have been remapping the MGU for smoother power delivery and fettling the V8 to run on standard petrol station grade fuel. We’d probably go for E5 just to be on the safe side, though.

Its unshowy silver paint is shared with that famous roadgoing 917K, which was converted in 1975 at the behest of Italian playboy racer and heir to the Martini booze fortune, Count Rossi. And unlike the racing 963, it’s actual paint, not a vinyl wrap. That’s even a regular enamel Porsche badge on the nose.

The tan colour of the interior is also shared with the Count Rossi 917, and it’s been retrimmed in sumptuous leather and Alcantara. The seat itself has extra cushioning, and is even ventilated – although that’s actually a feature shared with the race car. Oh, and this might be the only car we’ve ever seen that comes with both a cupholder and ear defenders.

Despite all this, and the fact that the RSP even has a horn and indicators, its road legality will still vary by jurisdiction. It had to get special dispensation from French authorities, for instance, and apparently the same is the case in the US.

That last point's important, because 'RSP' is the initials of this car's owner, Roger Searle Penske. He's the motorsport giant who runs teams in IndyCar and NASCAR (and owns the entire former series) as well as handling Porsche’s endurance programme.

“We have enjoyed a terrific relationship with Porsche dating back to 1972,” said Penske. “With such a remarkable partnership continuing to this day, we felt it was time to create the most exciting car we could imagine. Just like the 917, I wanted this car to be authentic to its origin and have as few changes to it as possible.”

Apparently, there’s quite a big endurance race taking place in northern France next weekend, where the 963 RSP will be on display. Following that, it’ll have a stint in Porsche’s museum in Stuttgart, before heading over to the UK to appear at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July. Despite being road legal, we can’t imagine it being used for a Sainsbury’s run while it’s over here.