Porsche has confirmed it will withdraw from the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class at the end of the 2025 season, officially ending months of speculation surrounding the future of its 963 prototype program.
The German automaker announced the decision last week, citing financial pressures and a shift in focus toward other racing programs. While the factory-backed 963 Hypercar effort will conclude, Porsche says it remains committed to the IMSA GTP series in North America and to the Formula E World Championship.
Racing a 700 HP Trans Am in Reverse
“We very much regret that, due to the current circumstances, we will not be continuing our involvement in the WEC after this season,” said Dr. Michael Steiner, a member of Porsche AG’s executive board for development.
Thomas Laudenbach, Porsche’s Vice President of Motorsport, emphasized that racing will remain central to the company’s engineering philosophy. “Motorsport is a development platform for future technologies,” he said. “With the 963 in IMSA and the 99X Electric in Formula E, we’ll continue fighting for overall victories.”
Porsche entered the WEC’s top class in 2023 with Penske Racing managing its LMDh-spec 963 effort. Since then, the program has earned three overall victories and a 2024 WEC Drivers’ World Championship title for Kevin Estre, Laurens Vanthoor, and André Lotterer. The #6 Penske Porsche team remains in championship contention heading into next month’s season finale in Bahrain.
The announcement leaves uncertainty around Porsche’s customer operations with Proton Competition, which currently fields a single 963. New rules for 2026 require Hypercar manufacturers to run at least two entries, potentially putting Proton’s participation—and Porsche’s presence at Le Mans—at risk.
Porsche’s exit marks the third Hypercar withdrawal by a Volkswagen Group brand, following earlier departures by Audi and Lamborghini.
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