Now, there are fast cars. And then there are cars that, if you squint just right, appear to be moving even when parked. The Porsche 963 RSP belongs to the latter category.
Conceived in Stuttgart and whispered into reality for Roger Penske (aka the Captain), a man who has probably already won whatever race you’re thinking of, this is a road car only in the loosest sense. It has number plates. That’s about it.
The 963 RSP is essentially a Le Mans Hypercar with manners. Sort of. Based on the LMDh prototype, it uses a 4.6-litre twin-turbo V8 with hybrid assistance, which, depending on how brave your right foot is, can turn tyre into smoke and road into blur.
It’s got carbon fibre everywhere, a monocoque you could drop from low orbit, and suspension, so clever that it probably has a PhD.
But what sets it apart is its sense of purpose. This isn’t a car that exists for Instagram or for arriving at a red-carpet event. It was built because Roger Penske, racing royalty himself, presumably asked, “Why not?” And Porsche, rather sensibly, said, “Right then.”
Inside, it’s pared back. Think NASA cockpit with a splash of leather. It’s not luxurious, but it’s focused, the sort of focus you get when a car is engineered by people who think “comfortable” is a function of downforce.
Driving it on public roads is like reading Shakespeare at a football match, brilliant, but possibly wasted on the setting.
Still, the 963 RSP isn’t about practicality. It’s a monument to speed, engineering, and one man’s refusal to accept limits. Quite right, too. There is little point asking if you would like one ‘coz there IS only one and that is in Roger Penkse garage, the lucky, lucky guy!
