HYPER DRIVE

Take one Le Mans hypercar and add number plates, leather trim, indicators and a cup holder. Result: the Porsche 963 RSP, a road-legal (just about) race car that makes regular supercars seem positively tame. We take it for a spin

- by HENRY CATCHPOLE

ARE YOU THE SORT OF PERSON WHO GOES TO THE local aquatic centre to stock up the garden pond and, when presented with the choice of koi or sturgeon, asks the assistant if they have anything more in the orca category? Are you the sort that deems an extinguisher in the kitchen a bit lightweight, so keeps a Dennis Rapier parked outside, just in case? If so, you probably look at a GT3 RS with its towering rear wing and still think there's just a bit too much road and not enough racer for an exciting jaunt round the NC500. In which case you need a Porsche 963 RSP - a genuine, roadconverted Le Mans Hypercar.

You can't have one I'm afraid, because the sole example belongs to The Captain, Roger Searle Penske - the RSP in the car's name. Owning Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar and the Porsche Penske Motorsport team has to have its perks. But in order to determine if you'd want one in your fantasy garage, I was allowed to have a brief stint behind the wheel (with Le Mans airport standing in for the Mulsanne) to get a taste of what it's like.

As with so many of the best things, the 963 RSP originated not from an official boardroom brainstorm but a chat and a bit of 'what if' at a race meeting. That race meeting wasn't years ago, either; it was Petit Le Mans at the end of the 2024 season, so development has been almost as fast as the car.