Porsche 963: The LMDh Prototype Behind Porsche's Return to Top-Class Racing

The Porsche 963 is an LMDh sports prototype that Porsche designed and Multimatic built, to race in the top classes of the World Endurance Championship and IMSA. It made its race debut at the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona, won that race outright in 2024 and again in 2026, and finished second at Le Mans in 2025.

Why did Porsche return to top-class prototype racing?

Porsche had left the top class of the World Endurance Championship in 2017, when its 919 Hybrid took the outright title. It committed to the LMDh class in December 2020 and formed a factory partnership with Team Penske, which gave the 963 its place in both series.

Porsche's last factory entries in the top class were the 919 Hybrid in the WEC and the RS Spyder in IMSA's LMP2 class, which won the outright championship in the American Le Mans Series. After the factory LMP1 and LMP2 teams withdrew, Porsche kept a presence in the lower classes with the 911 RSR in GT racing. The Automobile Club de l'Ouest, which runs Le Mans, said it regretted the sudden departure of one of endurance racing's most successful makers.

LMDh rules let teams choose a chassis from one of four constructors: Oreca, Ligier, Multimatic or Dallara. Pascal Zurlinden, then head of Porsche Motorsport, said in March 2020 that the company was seriously looking at an entry. Development started in December 2020, which made Porsche the first manufacturer to commit to the class.

The Team Penske partnership was announced in May 2021 and ran under the name Porsche Penske Motorsport. It continued a relationship that began with the 917/30 in Can-Am and was revived with the RS Spyder in the American Le Mans Series. The aim was two entries each in the top classes of the 2023 WEC and IMSA seasons.

Fritz Enzinger, then vice president of Porsche Motorsport, said that Le Mans was the one major prize missing from the company's record. A win in 2023 would have been Porsche's 20th overall victory at the Sarthe, which he called a dream come true.

Built on a rule that let Porsche return to top-class racing, the 963 won Daytona twice and finished second at Le Mans.

How was the 963 built?

The 963 uses a Multimatic chassis, with bodywork designed by Porsche, and a twin-turbocharged V8 developed from the engine in the Porsche 918. Williams Advanced Engineering, Bosch and Xtrac supplied the standardised hybrid parts that the class required. When Multimatic was named as the chassis constructor, Fritz Enzinger called it the most obvious and logical solution for Porsche.

He added that the company had known Multimatic and its experienced team for many years, and was convinced of the quality of their work.

The engine traces back to the 3,397 cc (207.3 cu in) V8 of the RS Spyder, which was developed into the 918 unit before becoming the 963's powerplant. Testing began in early 2022 at Porsche's Weissach test track, where the engine choice was also revealed. An extensive programme followed at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, where the car covered more than 6,000 km (3,728 mi).

The car was revealed at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed in a traditional red, white and black livery. The name looked back to the 956 and 962 that raced in the 1980s in both American and European series. Porsche had planned a non-competitive dress rehearsal at the 2022 8 Hours of Bahrain, but it chose private testing instead.

Porsche allocated four 963s to customers for 2023 in May 2022, with full factory support. JDC-Miller Motorsports and JOTA Sport each took one car, with JDC campaigning its car in IMSA and JOTA in the WEC. In November 2022 Proton Competition bought the remaining two customer entries. Supply chain disruptions delayed the first customer deliveries until April 2023.

How did the 963 start in IMSA in 2023?

Supply constraints meant that only the factory team, Porsche Penske Motorsport, could field the 963 at its 2023 Daytona debut. Customer teams had missed the opening rounds of both series while they waited for their cars, and they understood the reasons when they negotiated delivery.

The car was often close to the Acura ARX-06s of Meyer Shank Racing and Wayne Taylor Racing in practice, but reliability problems dogged both Porsches in the race.

The No. 7 car lost 35 laps while its battery was replaced, and the No. 6 of Nick Tandy had been in contention for overall victory in the morning until a gearbox failure ended its race. Results improved as the season went on, and the 963 scored its first IMSA victory at Long Beach, with Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy driving.

At the fourth round, the Monterey event, Matt Campbell took the car's first pole. The No. 6 car recovered to second after a slow start, but a later collision with an Aston Martin cost Campbell time and a drive-through penalty. At Watkins Glen, Tandy and Jaminet started from pole after qualifying was cancelled. The No. 6 car was later disqualified for illegal skid block wear, and the No. 7 finished 52nd after a hybrid system fault.

How strong was the 963 in 2024?

The 963 was highly competitive in 2024 in both the WEC and IMSA. It took its first major endurance win at the 24 Hours of Daytona, with Porsche Penske Motorsport's drivers Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr and Josef Newgarden taking the flag.

The factory cars then ran first and second in both the IMSA GTP drivers' standings and the Michelin Endurance Cup.

In the WEC, Porsche's first win since 2017 came at the 2024 Qatar 1812 km, where it took first and third, and Hertz Team Jota's customer car finished second. That was a podium sweep, the first by a Hypercar since the Le Mans Hypercar regulations were introduced in 2021. Jota's No. 12 car, driven by Callum Ilott and Will Stevens, went on to win the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the first customer entry to win overall in the series under the Hypercar rules.

The No. 85 car of JDC-Miller also reached the podium at the 2024 IMSA Battle on the Bricks, because the No. 6 factory car was penalised for a modified wiring harness. At Spa, Proton's No. 99, driven by Julien Andlauer and Neel Jani, fought near the front for the lead and finished fifth, with Andlauer also setting the fastest lap.

The No. 7 of Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr won the IMSA drivers' title, scoring a podium in all but two races. In the WEC the No. 6 beat Ferrari and Toyota to the drivers' championship, but Porsche finished two points behind Toyota in the manufacturers' standings. Hertz Team Jota also topped the customer teams in the FIA World Cup for Hypercar Teams.

How did the 963 do in 2025?

Porsche began its 2025 IMSA campaign by winning the first four races, at Daytona, Sebring, Long Beach and Laguna Seca. Its WEC start was less fruitful, and its best finish in the first three rounds was eighth. At Le Mans the No. 6 car finished second overall, 14 seconds behind the winning No. 83 Ferrari 499P from AF Corse.

The No. 6 had started from the back of its class after a disqualification for a weight infraction. A win from that position would have been the lowest starting spot ever to win the race.

On 7 October Porsche announced that it would end its factory programme in the WEC after 2025, following financial losses. The Penske IMSA programme was to continue into 2026.

What happened to the 963 in 2026?

Racing only in IMSA in 2026, the 963 made a dominant start. The No. 7 car won the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the two Porsche Penske cars took a 1-2 finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Balance of performance changes, introduced after that strong start, held the car back for much of the season.

After Sebring the only win went to the customer team JDC-Miller at Laguna Seca. The best factory result was a third place for the No. 6 at Long Beach. For Team Penske's 60th anniversary, both factory cars ran vintage-inspired liveries at the SportsCar Grand Prix at Road America. The No. 6 wore a Sunoco livery like the 917/30 that dominated Can-Am, and the No. 7 carried a DHL scheme as a tribute to the RS Spyder, which won the American Le Mans Series three times.

Is there a road-going 963?

Yes. Porsche released the 963 RSP in June 2025, a one-off commission for Team Penske that costs in the range of 5 million euros. It carries the race car's hybrid V8 powertrain but is not fully homologated for general road use.

The name comes from the initials of Roger Searle Penske, owner of Porsche's motorsport partner Team Penske. Porsche's sonderwunsch division reworked the car, giving it a silver exterior and a tan leather and Alcantara interior inspired by the 917. The bodywork was revised and the ride height raised, and the car added turn signals, brake lights, a horn and cup holders.

Under the skin, the rear motor and generator received new calibration for smoother power delivery, and the seven-speed sequential gearbox from Xtrac was carried over. The mid-mounted twin-turbo 4.6-litre V8, good for around 671 hp (500 kW / 680 PS), was set up to run on standard pump fuel. Special permission from French authorities allows the car on public roads, but only under particular circumstances and in line with local rules.