All About The Porsche 963 With Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport

Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport, took over from Fritz Enzinger, who has led the racing department of the sports car manufacturer to countless successes since 2011.

The qualified engineer, born in Santiago de Chile, completed his mechanical engineering studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. His path initially led him to the DTM and to a service company that developed powertrain components for various European vehicle manufacturers. In the autumn of 1998, Laudenbach joined Porsche AG.

As Head of Powertrain Development, he was involved in racing and sports car projects such as the 918 Spyder, 911 RSR, 911 GT3 R and the 911 GT3 Cup until 2013. As the leading developer of the 3.4-litre direct-injection V8 engine for the Porsche RS Spyder, Laudenbach also became acquainted with the North American motorsport scene.

We speak with him about the new 963 developed under his watch.

I’m heading the Porsche Motorsport department with the worldwide motorsport activities of the brand.

It’s the first time we really showed this to the public. It is our new LMDh race car which is going to race next year onwards in the WEC including the iconic 24 hours of Le Mans. And at the same time, with the same technical specification we will run it at the IWSC in the US including iconic races like Sebring and Daytona.

They worked with the same rules which is really nice, is unique and is the main argument for why we stepped in. you might know the rules that we have to work with specific suppliers, like one of the four car manufacturers. We chose Multimatic as a partner and because this is different to projects we’ve done before, you have a lot of parties involved in the development. But it is a challenge and it is also fun, and if you see the result we are really proud of what we have here.

There’s still a long way to go, no question. We are in the middle of the development programme and there is still a lot to do until we are in January 2023 in Daytona.

That’s always difficult, because if I point out one part then someone in my organisation would say, “Why didn’t you point out my part?” (laughs) Now, you see it is a real proper prototype race car. A lot of prototypes nearly all look the same due to the rules, but here, if you look at the aero, you have to be in a certain ballpark to be aero efficient, and this gives you certain freedom in making a nice design.

If you look at the front, it is a Porsche face. You can recognise from the shape that it is a Porsche. That’s what I like about it. And yes I have to say, I love the livery. Having elements from the past from actual road cars and so on. We were in the position to make a real Porsche out of it.

Yes, I share your opinion!

Credits: Text by James Wong; Photos by Horizon Drivers' Club