Porsche’s decision to delay an update on the 963’s 4.6-litre twin-turbo V8 engine was a strategic move made after extensive discussions with WEC organisers the FIA, the Automobile Club l’Ouest, and IMSA in North America. The FIA and the ACO had set a deadline for the engine to come on stream at the Imola WEC round in April, followed by the Spa race prior to Le Mans in June. However, Porsche’s project chief Urs Kuratle revealed that the timeline presented by the governing bodies would not allow sufficient time for endurance testing and production of enough units for the Porsche Penske Motorsport squad and customer teams.
The decision to delay the engine update was further complicated by the clash between the Imola WEC round and the Long Beach IMSA SportsCar Championship event in April. This meant that Porsche would have to convert a supply of engines for four PPM 963s running in both series, as well as five customer cars from Jota, Proton, and JDC-Miller. The LMDh ruleset stipulates that all cars must run the same specification at all times, adding to the logistical challenges faced by Porsche.
The key motivation behind the engine revision was to reduce vibrations in the hybrid system for enhanced reliability. The decision to move away from a 180-degree crankshaft to a 90-degree configuration was aimed at improving the overall performance of the hybrid system. Porsche’s experience with the latest spec LMDh hybrid system at the Daytona 24 Hours gave them confidence in the reliability of the system, easing concerns over the engine update.
While it is still in the plan to introduce the engine revisions later in the season, Porsche has yet to establish a concrete timeline for the update. Kuratle emphasized that no date would be fixed until after Porsche completes its pre-Le Mans endurance testing with the existing engine. He also mentioned the possibility of the engine update counting as one of the evo joker performance upgrades allowed over the lifecycle of an LMDh or Le Mans Hypercar, pending approval from the rulemakers.
Porsche’s decision to delay the engine update for the 963 LMDh was a calculated move based on logistical and performance considerations. While the update is still on the table for the future, Porsche remains focused on ensuring the reliability and performance of their hybrid system before moving forward with the planned revisions.