The Porsche 963 is an LMDh sports prototype racing car built by Multimatic and designed by Porsche to compete in the Hypercar and GTP (Grand Touring Protoype) classes in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship, respectively.[2] The 963 name draws inspiration from the Porsche 956 and Porsche 962 that raced in the 1980s, which also competed in American and European racing series.[3] The car was revealed at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed, with a traditional red, white, and black livery.[4] The official race debut of the 963 is set to be the season-opening round of the 2023 IMSA Championship at the 24 Hours of Daytona. The car was originally slated for a non-competitive dress rehearsal at the 2022 8 Hours of Bahrain,[5] however, Porsche decided later that they would not race at Bahrain in favour of more private testing time.[6]

Porsche 963

Category	GTP
Constructor	Multimatic
Predecessor	Porsche RS Spyder, Porsche 919 Hybrid
Technical specifications[1]
Chassis	LMP2-based cabon-fibre monocoque with aluminium honeycomb core
Suspension (front)	Double wishbones, pushrods with power steering
Suspension (rear)	Double wishbones, pushrods
Length	5,100 mm (200.8 in)
Width	2,000 mm (78.7 in)
Height	1,060 mm (41.7 in)
Wheelbase	3,148 mm (123.9 in)
Engine	4,593 cc (280.3 cu in) V8 twin-turbocharged, 32-valve, DOHC mid-engine, longitudinally-mounted
Electric motor	Front-mounted Separate motor-generator unit + single-speed reducer
Transmission	Single specification hybrid system 7-speed carbon-fibre plastics reinforced pneumatically actuated sequential
Power	500 kW (680 PS; 671 hp) (combined)
Weight	1,030 kg (2,270.8 lb)
Lubricants	Mobil 1
Tyres	Michelin slicks with one-piece forged alloys, 29/71-18 front and 34/71-18 rear.
Competition history
Competition	FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship
Notable entrants	/ Porsche Penske Motorsports JOTA JDC–Miller MotorSports
Notable drivers	Kévin Estre André Lotterer Michael Christensen Dane Cameron Felipe Nasr Matt Campbell Mathieu Jaminet Laurens Vanthoor
Debut	2023 24 Hours of Daytona

Background

Porsche last competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship's top class, LMP1, back in 2017 with the Porsche 919 Hybrid, and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship (also partnered with Penske) with the Porsche RS Spyder in the LMP2 class, with the 919 taking outright championship victory in its final year of competition, and the RS Spyder taking outright championship victory in the American Le Mans Series and class championship victory in the European Le Mans Series.[7][8] Following the withdrawal of Porsche's factory LMP1 and LMP2 teams from the World Endurance Championship and American Le Mans Series, Porsche maintained a presence in the lower classes with continued factory support for the 911 RSR in the American Le Mans Series' GT2 (later GTLM) class, and in the World Endurance Championship's GTE class.[9][10] The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the organiser of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, issued a statement regarding the matter, saying that the club "regrets this precipitous departure, as it does the abruptness of the decision from one of endurance racing’s most successful and lauded manufacturers".[11]

As part of the LMDh regulations, interested parties can choose four constructors to partner with to construct the chassis upon to which design the car, those four constructors being Oreca, Ligier, Multimatic and Dallara.[12] Head of Porsche Motorsport Pascal Zurlinden announced in March 2020 that Porsche would be evaluating an entry into LMDh, saying "Porsche is seriously looking into it, but there is no decision yet".[13] This was followed up with an announcement in December that year that development of a LMDh project would commence, with Porsche being the first manufacturer to commit to the LMDh class.[14] Multimatic was revealed in May 2021 to be the constructor that would supply the chassis for which Porsche would design bodywork, with Vice President of Porsche Motorsport Fritz Enzinger saying that "Multimatic is the most obvious and logical solution for us", and that "We have known this highly respected company and its team of experienced professionals for many years and are absolutely convinced of the quality of their work".[15]

Testing commenced at the beginning of 2022, with the first tests being at Porsche's test track at Weissach,[16] where the car's engine choice was also revealed, that being a twin-turbocharged V8, which is a development of the engine found in the Porsche 918 which in turn was developed from the 3,397 cc (207.3 cu in) V8 found in the Porsche RS Spyder, paired with the standardised hybrid parts provided by Williams Advanced Engineering, Bosch, and Xtrac.[17][18] This was followed by an extensive testing program at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, where the car covered over 6,000 km (3,728 mi).[19][20][21]

Porsche also announced in May 2022 that four 963s would be allocated to customers, at the cost of $2.9 million, with full factory support.[22][23] JDC–Miller Motorsports and JOTA Sport both announced on the 25th of June that they would take delivery, with JDC MotorSport campaigning the 963 in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and JOTA fielding the car in the FIA World Endurance Championship.[24][25]

References

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