Porsche 963 LMDh Le Mans racer revealed

Porsche has taken the wraps off its new 963 sports prototype for competing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) – of which Le Mans is a core part – and the US-based IMSA series from next year.

The LMDh-spec racer was revealed in full livery for the first time at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, where Porsche’s driver line-up was also confirmed.

·         Porsche and Penske team up for 963 LMDh racer

·         Andre Lotterer part of driver line-up

Porsche 963 details

Run in alliance with US motorsport powerhouse Penske, the Porsche 963 will make its competitive debut at the Daytona 24 Hours next January. Created on an LMP2 chassis made by Canadian constructor Multimatic, it is powered by a 4.6-litre V8 bi-turbo based on the 918 Spyder engine. Its DNA dates back to Porsche’s RS Spyder LMP2, which raced with success in the US between 2005 and 2008.

The engine is mated to the LMDh hybrid drivetrain created in alliance with Bosch, Williams Advanced Engineering and Xtrac.

“After 7,889 test kilometres during the first half of 2022, we’re on a very good path, but there is still work to be done before the start of the next season,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Porsche’s vice-president of motorsport.

“Our new Porsche 963 should continue the legacy of legendary models such as the 917, 935, 956, 962 and the 919. I’m positive that we’ll be well positioned when it comes to technology, and we’ve also created the relevant team structures to set us up for wins in the thrilling competition between many manufacturers and different concepts.” 

Porsche LMDh driver line-up

The drivers who will compete in the WEC and IMSA have been drawn from Porsche’s current roster of experienced international GT racers, and include its Formula E racer Andre Lotterer.

The 40-year-old German was a three-time Le Mans winner with Audi and also raced Porsche’s high-tech 919 Hybrid LMP1. The other drivers named are Kevin Estre, Michael Christensen, Laurens Vanthoor, Australian Matt Campbell, Mathieu Jaminet and IMSA specialists Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr.

JOTA to field customer Porsche 963 LMDh car

Four 963s will be built to run the Penske Porsche Motorsport factory squad across both series. In preparation for the campaign, Penske returned to the Le Mans 24 Hours this month for the first time since it ran a Ferrari 512M at the French classic in 1971. The team ran an LMP2 ORECA-Gibson driven by Cameron, Nasr and French veteran Emmanuel Collard. They finished fifth in class.

The pressure is now on for Penske and Porsche to hit the ground at a sprint when the new era for global sports car racing starts next season. Porsche will face opposition in the form of Le Man Hypercar (LMH) entries from Toyota’s established GR010 Hybrid, Ferrari, Peugeot and Glickenhaus, plus LMDh challengers from Cadillac, BMW and Acura.

British team JOTA, which won this year’s Le Mans race in the LMP2 class, will also run one of the prototypes in WEC’s Hypercar class next year. This will be the first time the team’s competing in the top rung prototype racing in 15 years.

JDC-Miller MotorSport, meanwhile, will field another Porsche 963 in the 2023 IMSA Weather SportsCar Championship.

Also see:

BMW unveils M Hybrid V8 for top-rung endurance racing return

Cadillac to make Le Mans return with Project GTP Hypercar