It was late last month that we got an inkling that a road-going version of the Porsche 963, Stuttgart’s latest top-flight endurance racer, was in the works. Inspired by an example of the famous 917K from the ’70s that was road-legalised at the behest of Italian playboy racer Count Rossi, the last we heard of it, we were treated to a single silhouetted teaser and a June unveil date.
Well, it’s almost June, and evidently, Porsche’s getting ready to show the car off. The latest teaser comes in one of the stranger forms we’ve seen – a short video chock-full of ASMR-style sound effects of various parts of the car being prepped.
As you enjoy the video – or, if you’re like me and ASMR stuff makes your skin crawl, suffer through it – you’ll be treated to more hints that we are indeed looking at a road-ready 963. As well as getting glimpses of the odd bit of bodywork, including what’s clearly the wheel arch of a 963 in the spray booth, we also see Porsche’s team working with various materials you certainly wouldn’t expect to find in a full-on racing car.
Then, the big reveal comes towards the end of the video – a close-up of a badge that reads ‘963 RSP’. You can make your own mind up on what this might stand for – we’re thinking ‘Rennsport Prototype’, or possibly ‘Rather Silly Porsche’.
Porsche 963
That last shot is accompanied by what sounds like an electric motor whirring into life, suggesting that this car will share a version of the hybrid powertrain in the 963 racer. Will it get the same 4.6-litre twin-turbo V8, too? It’s derived from the one found in the 918 Spyder, so it’s not out of the question that it could be re-adapted for road use.
Interestingly, the video’s description calls the 963 RSP ‘a one-of-one vehicle’, suggesting that it could be a mere one-off rather than a limited run thing. All will be revealed at some point next month – quite possibly around the weekend of the 14th and 15th, when the competition version of the 963 is taking part in some sort of large race in northern France.
Mike Bartholomew
The first full sentence spoken by an infant Mike was a review of the ride quality of a Volvo 850. It was “Daddy’s car goes bumpy-bump on a bumpy road,” so would probably need proofreading a bit, but it was a start.
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