Latest news with #918Spyder
Man of Many
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- Man of Many
Porsche Just Built a One-of-a-Kind V8 963 Hypercar
By Somnath Chatterjee - News Published: 18 June 2025 Share Copy Link Readtime: 5 min Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here. Porsche has unveiled the 963 RSP , a one-off street-legal version of the 917 racing car that dominated motorsports across eras. , a one-off street-legal version of the 917 racing car that dominated motorsports across eras. The hypercar was built to mark 50 years since Count Rossi drove the Porsche 917 from Zuffenhausen to Paris. It comes with a hybrid V8 powertrain with roots to the 918 Spyder, alongside a 917-inspired paint job. with roots to the 918 Spyder, alongside a 917-inspired paint job. The Porsche 963 RSP was built for Roger Penske and could well be the most expensive Porsche ever made. Porsche is not playing around. This week, the fabled German automaker sent a stern message to the global high-performance market, unveiling a thinly disguised road-legal version of its extreme 963 hybrid Le Mans race car. Built for billionaire racing team owner Roger Penske, this is a one-of-a-kind ride is, aside from being the ultimate flex in the ALDI parking lot, inspired by the equally bonkers and iconic 917. 'This really started out as a 'what if?' – a passion project by a small team of enthusiasts at Penske and at Porsche who together imagined a version of the 963 that really resembled as closely as possible the spirit and appearance of the Count Rossi 917,' Porsche Cars North America president and CEO Timo Resch said. 'The 917 from the story was every inch a race car – albeit one driven on the road – and we took the same approach with the 963 RSP. It uses beautiful materials of the best quality available, but is still every bit a race car underneath.' Porsche 963 RSP | Image: Porsche A racecar, indeed. The ultra-unique 963 RSP model was reportedly developed as a sort of skunkworks project, with the ethos to stay as close to the original car as possible. Unbelievably, the hybrid V8 powertrain, which comes with a lithium-ion battery, continues to remain in race tune in the 963 RSP. The 4.6-litre twin-turbocharged V8 dishes up 680 hp and originated in the RS Spyder race program operated by Penske. As Porsche fanatics may remember, that same engine, in an enlarged form, was used in the 918 hypercar; however, where the 918 Spyder used the engine in naturally aspirated form, the 963 pairs it with two turbochargers provided by the Dutch manufacturer Van der Lee. Hence, the acceleration is violent and has nearly the same intensity as that of the race car. Crazy. Porsche 963 RSP interior | Image: Porsche With so much additional acceleration power, Porsche has understandably remapped the ECU for a (relatively) smoother power delivery, while also modifying the control unit to use headlights and indicators. Of course, if you want to drive a racing car on the road, the ride height must be increased, and the same has been done here with the adjustable Multimatic DSSV dampers. These handy additions are generally reserved for racing prototypes and in this setting, have been tuned to their softest setting. According to Porsche, this creates a more compliant ride, one that will leave your spine intact next time you go on the morning coffee run. Make no mistake, this is not a Panamera but a true hardcore machine, and the driving experience has been kept as uncorrupted as possible. Porsche 963 RSP | Image: Porsche The same goes for the design, which looks stunning, especially when clad in this 'Martini Silver' hue, which matches the 917, and it is not a wrap. To add a contrast effect, some of the components have been painted in satin black with a 3D printed '963 RSP' logo being applied to the rear of the car. The 963 RSP does have some changes over the 963, including fender vents and carbon fibre blanking plates that sit within the rear wing. To further bring it closer to the 917, the Porsche logo is enamel and not a graphic, along with 1970s-era Michelin logos for the tire walls with 18-inch tyres. Compared to the 963, the road car is far more luxurious on the inside and comes with a lovely tan interior, while the single-piece carbon seat comes trimmed in leather, no less. There is even a detachable 3D-printed cup holder, which means it is quite a practical Porsche, although luggage space is questionable. Porsche 963 RSP | Image: Porsche 'We have enjoyed a terrific relationship with Porsche dating back to 1972. The Porsche 917/30 was one of the greatest eras in Team Penske history with numerous wins and championships, along with the closed-course speed record set by Mark Donohue in 1975,' Roger Penske, chairman of the Penske Corporation said. 'With such a remarkable partnership continuing to this day, we felt it was time to create the most exciting car we could imagine. Just like the 917, I wanted this car to be authentic to its origin and have as few changes to it as possible. When we got into the project, the differences in the two generations of race cars provided a great challenge. What emerged is a car that has lost none of its edge and is exciting whether on the track or on the road.' Porsche has not revealed just how much the 963 RSP costs, but for a one-off like this, you can expect the price tag to mirror the 917. In all likelihood, the Porsche 963 RSP price could run into millions, making it one of the most expensive Porsches ever built. We're just glad such a ludicrous thing exists. Porsche 963 RSP | Image: Porsche Porsche 963 RSP | Image: Porsche
The National
12-02-2025
- Automotive
- The National
Bentley CEO: The UAE is our market for super exclusive, special cars
'You have full world competition here,' says Bentley chief executive Frank-Steffen Walliser referring to the fact the UAE's roads are home to cars from Europe, the US, China and beyond. 'It's one of not a lot of places in the world where cars come from everywhere. It's more or less very open,' he says. 'This really reflects a super competitive market.' As for where Bentley fits into the market, he's very clear: 'In the UAE, we are doing very, very well. We see stability but also growth potential for the upcoming years." Walliser is in Dubai for the first time since taking over the role of chairman and chief executive at Bentley Motors in July. He's no stranger to the brand's parent company, Volkswagen Group, coming off a storied career at Porsche, where he started his journey in 1995. At Porsche, he managed its all-important 911 and 718 product lines and was also responsible for the 918 Spyder super sports car, an extremely high-performance hybrid. All experiences that will help him shepherd Bentley through its next phase. One aspect of Bentley that will be new to Walliser is the sheer number of possibilities for customisation for each model, which is a key driver of demand in the region. 'I think in our segment, the total sales numbers are not that important," he says. "For sure you need a certain volume, but what we see is the quality of the cars. The customers here are keen on having a personalised car. 'We fly in some of our designers, so they sit together with the customer for three or four hours and do the specification of the car. But then it's definitely their car. You can do so many things with a Bentley. We make everything possible. The customers are sometimes surprised by what we can do. 'To give you a rough number, the content on average is double in comparison to the average globally in terms of bespoke content. So this is our market for super exclusive, super special cars." Joining the very British Bentley after nearly three decades at the very German Porsche doesn't appear to have been a culture shock. 'Bentley has a very welcoming culture," he adds. "It's not just another brand, it's another country, it's another culture, it's also another company culture. "A lot of things changed but I felt very positive. The transition was good." After a process of immersion into the world of the marque, studying its rich history, he rolled up his sleeves and got to work on the present and, more importantly, the future straight away. Bentley doesn't need the wholesale revitalisation it once did. When the Continental GT was launched two decades ago, the brand was ailing. That model single-handedly reinvigorated it for a new generation. Walliser's challenge now will be to tweak the line-up of models - or the technology behind them - to create a car that can take Bentley into the next two decades. 'The plug-in hybrid was a bold move,' says Walliser about the transition of both the Continental GT and Flying Spur to hybrid-only models. 'It was well received by the customers, especially when they're driving the car, they say: 'Wow, this is completely different. We can feel this hybrid adds more to the car than it takes away.'" The fully hybrid models are a major step on the brand's way to electrification, although the target for full electrification was pushed back to 2035. 'The move to the electric car is maybe the most demanding task in the history of the car,' says Walliser. 'This is clearly driven by regulation, but we also see there's a demand and acceptance for plug-in hybrid. And so this is why we extend our offering and plug-in hybrids in our model lines. And on the other side, we are coming with a full electric Bentley in 2027.' Walliser knows that some Bentley purists will reject this model, but he also sees it as an opportunity to invite a different type of customer into the Bentley universe. Someone less attracted by W12 engines and more by the intersection of heritage and cutting-edge technology. That's the thing with leading a brand like Bentley into the future, you have to juggle heritage, regulation and future planning by constantly bringing new people into your customer base. While Walliser is committed to preserving Bentley's heritage and has a keen sense of what needs updating and what doesn't - the logo seems to be safe and there is no Jaguar-like identity crisis here - he knows that forward movement is essential. 'If you stay too much in the past and you do not develop design and brand, you lose your reputation over time," he says. "A brand is like a bank account, and if you withdraw all the time you are going to be bankrupt. You need to put something in.' As for that all-electric model coming in 2027, he remains tight-lipped. 'It's a new segment. Call it 'luxury urban SUV.' It'll be more compact, for a Bentley. It's still not a tiny car," jokes Walliser. "It's exciting and we're very focused on how to bring emotions in an electric car.'
