Porsche 963 – The end of an ERA? – Sparky FEATURETTE
As expected, Porsche is pulling out of the WEC: after three years, the programme in the World Endurance Championship is coming to an end. Fortunately, the 963 is far from being history at Sparky's, and in 1:64 scale, it will hopefully remain in our memories for a long time to come.
Is the hype surrounding the Hypercar prototype class already over?
What has been common knowledge for months is official since last week: Porsche is withdrawing from the World Endurance Championship (WEC). This is not the first withdrawal since the Hypercar class was introduced in 2021. Private constructors Glickenhaus, Vanwall and Isotta-Fraschini only had a short-term chance of survival against the big manufacturers. Lamborghini withdrew from the WEC at the end of 2024 and will also withdraw completely from the American IMSA sports car championship at the end of the year. But the Italians only half-heartedly supported the project from the outset. Thanks to MiniGT, we at least had the opportunity to add the 2024 IMSA version of the SC63 Lamborghini to our collection. An extremely successful model, which no other model car manufacturer has attempted to bring to market so far.
With Porsche, a truly big name is now leaving the series for the first time in years. At the end of September, the WEC celebrated its 100th race. Porsche has won at least one class victory 71 times, with 21 overall victories to its name. In 2024, AndrΓ© Lotterer, Kevin Γstre and Laurens Vanthoor also won the world championship title. In keeping with this, Sparky released the 2024 version of the Porsche 963 this year with various start numbers, including number 6 from the aforementioned world champion as a PENSKE Motorsport vehicle. Sparky released the FAT Turbo Team PROTON this year as well. MiniGT and Hot Wheels Elite64 will also be launching the Porsche 963 by the end of 2025 probably.
Porsche 963 remains in IMSA
At least the Porsche 963 LMDh (4.6-litre V8 turbo) will not be mothballed. Porsche will remain active in the IMSA series. Porsche will also remain loyal to Formula E β and will even compete under the Porsche name in 2026. Title sponsor TAG Heuer will continue to be a partner, but will no longer be the namesake of the racing team. The WEC is currently experiencing a golden era. In 2024 and 2025, eight manufacturers competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans β one of the most prestigious races in the world. This year, they were Ferrari, Porsche, Cadillac, Toyota, Alpine, Peugeot, Aston Martin and BMW. You have to go back to 1953 to find a time when so many (and even more) car manufacturers were involved. Porsche's departure could be offset in 2026 by newcomer Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis. McLaren and Ford will also be entering with prototypes in 2027. But Porsche may not be the only manufacturer to turn its back on the WEC. There is also repeated speculation that BMW, for example, may withdraw.
Proton could save Porsche's participation
There is still a slim chance that Porsche will compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2026. However, this will require the assistance of the German private team Proton.
In theory, Porsche will receive an invitation to Le Mans for its upcoming title win in the IMSA championship, which is likely to be a mere formality. However, since a rule change just over a year ago, only manufacturers who also field two cars in the WEC are eligible to compete there.
Only Porsche has so far taken advantage of the opportunity to send customer teams into the race with its prototypes. Christian Ried's Proton team currently only fields one Porsche 963. The German is an absolute fan of the WEC and has himself competed in 89 of the 100 WEC races since 2012 as a driver in amateur classes.
If his team fields a second Porsche 963, at least the Porsche name could remain part of the championship in this form. And with the invitation from the IMSA title, Porsche could then also bring an additional factory car to Le Mans. How realistic is this scenario? Much depends on whether Proton can raise the money for a second Porsche 963. After all, Porsche has already announced its support in this case. As mentioned earlier, Sparky had released models of the Hertz JOTA team from 2023 (which switched to Cadillac a year later) and the Penske Porsche, as well as the PROTON customer team. All featured the appropriate sponsors and overall appearance in the usual Spark quality.
Porsche once again wins all titles in the 2025 IMSA Championship
Last but not least another happy end for 2025, which shows just how much potential this 963 actually has! Porsche rewarded itself with four championship titles at the end of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season. The two Porsche 963s from the factory team finished the final race at Road Atlanta in third and tenth place.
βWinning these titles is the result of the tireless efforts of everyone at Porsche Penske Motorsport,β said Roger Penske, founder and chairman of Penske Corporation. "The season started with four consecutive wins for us, including our second consecutive victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona. This was followed by ten more podium finishes. Such successes cannot be achieved without great drivers, a top team at the helm and a perfect crew. Our title wins are the result of the unparalleled dedication of all the men and women at our locations in Mannheim and Mooresville." (quot. Porsche Newsroom).
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