Porsche last competed at the top level of the FIA World Endurance Championship with the Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 car until its withdrawal after the 2017 season. Head of Porsche Motorsport Pascal Zurlinden announced in March 2020 that Porsche was evaluating a return to top-level prototype racing via the new LMDh regulations, and in December 2020 the manufacturer confirmed it would be the first manufacturer to commit to the LMDh class.
Porsche selected Multimatic as its chassis constructor partner from the four available options — Oreca, Ligier, Multimatic, and Dallara — citing the company's experience and the strength of the existing working relationship. Testing commenced in early 2022 at Porsche's Weissach test track, during which the powertrain was confirmed: a twin-turbocharged V8 developed from the engine found in the Porsche 918 and ultimately tracing lineage from the 3,397 cc V8 of the Porsche RS Spyder, paired with the LMDh-standard hybrid components supplied by Williams Advanced Engineering, Bosch, and Xtrac. The car covered over 6,000 km of development testing at circuits including Barcelona and Spa-Francorchamps.
A multi-year factory team partnership with Team Penske, operating under the banner Porsche Penske Motorsport, was announced in May 2021, continuing a relationship that began with the 917/30 in Can-Am and continued with the RS Spyder in the ALMS. Four customer cars were also allocated for the 2023 season at a cost of $2.9 million each. JDC-Miller Motorsports, JOTA Sport, and Proton Competition took delivery of customer entries.
Supply chain constraints limited the car's debut at the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona to the Porsche Penske Motorsport factory entries. Both cars encountered reliability issues in the race, losing significant time to battery and gearbox failures. The 963 took its first IMSA victory on the Streets of Long Beach with Mathieu Jaminet and Nick Tandy, and later scored at Watkins Glen before a subsequent disqualification for illegal skid block wear.
The 963 became highly competitive across both championship programmes. Porsche Penske Motorsport won the 2024 24 Hours of Daytona with drivers Dane Cameron, Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr, and Josef Newgarden. In the FIA WEC, the car took its first WEC victory since 2017 at the 2024 Qatar 1812 km, with the factory entries finishing first and third and Hertz Team Jota's customer number 12 car second — completing the first Hypercar podium sweep since the regulations were introduced in 2021.
The factory Porsche Penske cars secured a 1-2 in the IMSA GTP Drivers' Championship and the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. The number 7 car driven by Dane Cameron and Felipe Nasr won the overall drivers' title. In the WEC, Hertz Team Jota's customer number 12 car driven by Callum Ilott and Will Stevens won the 2024 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, becoming the first customer entry to win a race overall in the Hypercar era and the first privateer overall winner since Rebellion Racing in 2020. The factory Porsches narrowly missed the WEC Manufacturers' Championship, finishing two points behind Toyota.
Porsche dominated the opening of the 2025 IMSA season, winning the first four races at Daytona, Sebring, Long Beach, and Laguna Seca. At the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, the number 6 car finished second overall, 14 seconds behind the race-winning Ferrari 499P from AF Corse, representing the best Le Mans result for the 963. The car had started from the back of its class grid following a pre-race weight infraction disqualification.
In October 2025, Porsche announced the end of its factory WEC programme after the 2025 season following financial losses, while the Penske IMSA programme would continue into 2026.
A street-legal version, the 963 RSP, was released by Porsche in June 2025 as a one-off commission for Team Penske owner Roger Searle Penske, priced at approximately five million euros. The car retains the race car's twin-turbocharged V8 and seven-speed sequential Xtrac gearbox with modifications for road usability, including turn signals, brake lights, and revised bodywork, finished in silver with an interior inspired by the Porsche 917.