After months of rigorous track testing and thousands of development miles, Porsche finally lifted the lid on the incredible 963 racer. The official debut took place this weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with the Porsche Penske Motorsport-developed track weapon thrilling the crowd as it powered up the infamous hill climb.
It's a hugely exciting car, thanks to a 918-derived 4.6-liter V8 engine producing a combined output of up to 670 horsepower. The hybridized LMDh-spec prototype will be made available for sale, with motorsport teams and wealthy individuals able to purchase the turn-key Porsche for $2.9 million - more than a dozen examples of the 911 Turbo would be cheaper.
That may sound like an exorbitant amount of money for a playboy's weekend toy but, as Porsche Motorsport's North America CEO explains, you get plenty of bang in return for your buck.
He told Road & Track that the $2.9 million is the overall amount. "As long as the customer is running, our services are always available. [We] will have spare parts on-site [and] an engineering truck on-site [with five to seven] engineers, and we will figure out now with teams what [it] is what they think is needed. But that service is always there. And it's always for free," said Volker Holzmeyer.
Other perks you get as part of the pricey package include useful engineering information that will reportedly be provided prior to each race. This would include details on the best setup for a particular track, for example, ensuring the ideal configuration on race day.
"It's the way Porsche approaches it because it's the way that we can guarantee the highest level of quality. If we offer something and somebody has to pay for it, you always could say no ... we can make sure we always deliver the highest quality and make sure it's the best result achievable," added Holzmeyer.
The expenses don't stop at $2.9 million. As any experienced team would tell you, it costs a great deal of money to maintain a full season of racing. As R&T reports, independent teams running a Cadillac DPi-V.R can spend as much as $4.5 million.
What's more, teams could see overall spending increase by $1 million. This is the first time the IMSA-mandated energy recovery systems will be implemented; this will require specialist engineers and additional technical support. At least the 963 can be viewed as an investment. Should a racing team or wealthy individual need to sell the racer, it will surely command a premium as a classic in the future.
In 2020, a Martini-liveried Porsche 935 sold for twice its original value, and, not too long ago, Steve McQueen's famous 917 racer was estimated to sell for as much as $16 million.