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Porsche Penske Motorsport Unveils Porsche 963 LMDh for 2023 IMSA, WEC

Photo credit: Porsche Motorsports
Photo credit: Porsche Motorsports
  • The reveal of the Porsche 963 at the Goodwood Festival in England also included an announcement of the driver pairings for next season.

  • The Porsche 963 will make its racing debut at the 61st anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona weekend, Jan. 26-29, 2023.

  • Porsche is one of four manufacturers lined up to race in the new top classes of sports cars in both IMSA and WEC in 2023.


Porsche Penske Motorsport unveiled its new Porsche 963 LMDh-spec car for the 2023 season.

The reveal of the Porsche 963 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England also included an announcement of the driver pairings for next season. Porsche Penske Motorsport plans to race two cars next season in both the GTP (Grand Touring Prototype) class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and in the Hypercar class in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

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The Porsche 963 will make its racing debut at the 61st anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona weekend, Jan. 26-29, 2023.

Porsche is one of four manufacturers lined up to race in the new top classes of sports cars in both IMSA and WEC in 2023. It joins Acura, Cadillac and BMW.

Alpine and Lamborghini have announced plans to join the party in 2024. Audi previously announced plans for an LMDh car, but those plans are apparently on hold while the company evaluates the economy and a possible move into Formula 1.

Photo credit: Porsche Motorsports
Photo credit: Porsche Motorsports

The racing 963 will carry the traditional Porsche motor racing colors: white, red and black and feature a 680 hp engine.

The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Porsches will be prepared at Team Penske’s primary location in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team’s headquarters in Mannheim, Germany, will house the WEC teams.

“After 7,889 test kilometers (4,900 miles) 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 next season,” said Thomas Laudenbach, Porsche Motorsport vice president. “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.”

Photo credit: Porsche Motorsports
Photo credit: Porsche Motorsports

Preseason testing for the Porsche Penske Motorsport is set for the final round of the WEC season in Bahrain this November. The cars are expected to be homologated this fall.

The drivers selected for the races in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship include Kévin Estre (France), Michael Christensen (Denmark), André Lotterer (Germany), Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), Matt Campbell (Australia), Mathieu Jaminet (France) as well as IMSA veterans Dane Cameron (Glen Ellen, California) and Felipe Nasr (Brazil). Other drivers will be added for the endurance races at Le Mans, Sebring, Daytona and for Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Photo credit: Porsche Motorsport
Photo credit: Porsche Motorsport

Frédéric Makowiecki drove the first miles in the Porsche 963 at Porsche Motorsport headquarters in Weissach, Germany, and also turned the first laps in the simulator.

In compliance with the LMDh regulations, the Porsche 963 is based on an LMP2- category chassis. This newly developed vehicle chassis is supplied by Multimatic. Bosch, Williams Advanced Engineering and Xtrac contribute the standard hybrid components. The powertrain features a 4.6- liter twin-turbo V8. The engine is based on the high-performance 918 Spyder hybrid sports car.

The new Porsche 963 will be available to customers beginning in the car’s first year of competition.

Photo credit: Porsche Motorsport
Photo credit: Porsche Motorsport