917 and 963 road cars: Porsche prepared for the 24 Hours of Le Mans with two one-offs

Celebrations have to be few and far between to be appreciated and shared: the starting point on which the 963 RSP project was conceived came from the request that exactly 50 years ago the car's major sponsor, Martini's president and major shareholder, made to Porsche: to be able to have a 917 that could also be used on the road. What seemed impossible became a magnificent and elegant silver 917, still perfectly preserved today. Honour to Martini yesterday and honour to a motorsport legend today, the famous Roger Penske, who started out as a driver and achieved a dominant role, on both sides of the Atlantic, in sport and in the car business. Roger Penske is also the head of the stable that races official Porsche 963s today, both in the American IMSA championships and in the World Endurance Championship, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The road legal version of the 963 RSP required no simple modifications to the car on which it is based. For example, it is the first of its kind to be painted, a unique challenge given the nature of the bodywork in carbon fibre and Kevlar in places, which is ultra-thin to save weight.

Who would have imagined this? Also closed are the generous openings on the front wheels, compulsory in competition by regulation but not functional off the track. Its colour, in homage to Count Rossi's 917, is Martini silver and its bodywork, although modified for road rules, has refined features that are best expressed in the interior, which is in light brown leather and Alcantara inspired by the trim choices made by Count Rossi 50 years ago.