Porsche Pulls Plug on Factory Hypercar Program

Photo: Fabrizio Boldoni/DPPI

Porsche has revealed it will pull the plug on its factory Hypercar effort in the FIA World Endurance Championship at the end of the year, amid a “comprehensive realignment” in the German manufacturer’s motorsport programs.

Announced on Tuesday, the two-car Porsche Penske Motorsport operation will cease operations following next month’s season-ending 8 Hours of Bahrain, although its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship effort with Penske will continue in 2026.

Porsche will place its focus on both the continued factory WeatherTech Championship effort as well as its works operation in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, along with supporting customer programs worldwide, including with the Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo that is set to debut next year.

Its withdrawal from top-class WEC competition comes amid months of speculation on whether Porsche would continue the pair of works 963 programs at all, despite both having initially been earmarked through the end of the 2027 seasons.

However, the programs came under board-level review amid the company’s declining EV sales, as well as other losses, including U.S.-imposed tariffs.

A board-level decision was originally due to be made in August but was initially delayed amid an upcoming change in Porsche’s CEO Oliver Blume, who currently holds a dual chief executive role with Volkswagen.

“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, member of the executive board at Porsche AG.

“Motorsport has always been of major importance for Porsche and is an essential part of the brand.”

Porsche Motorsport boss Thomas Laudenbach added: “We use motorsport as a development platform for future technology and to illustrate the potential of our sports cars.

“With the Porsche 963 in the North American IMSA series and the Porsche 99X Electric in the Formula E World Championship, we want to continue to fight for overall victories in the future. That is our tradition and our focus.”

Porsche, which claimed victory in the recent Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas, currently sits second in the Hypercar manufacturers’ championship, behind Ferrari, entering November’s season finale in Bahrain.

The drivers of the No. 6 Porsche Penske entry, Laurens Vanthoor and Kevin Estre, meanwhile, still have a chance of claiming back-to-back Hypercar drivers’ world championships.

Without a factory effort for next year, Porsche’s future involvement in the WEC’s Hypercar class, and at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, remains unclear.

A new-for-2025 WEC regulation mandates a minimum of two Hypercar entries per manufacturer, with Porsche customer Proton Competition having run a single 963 this season, although the team does have possession of two chassis.

Additionally, should Porsche Penske win this year’s WeatherTech Championship GTP title, it would receive an automatic invite to next year’s Le Mans, although it would only be eligible if the Porsche 963 contests the full WEC season.

The future of Manthey’s Porsche LMGT3 effort in the world championship, which was linked to the manufacturer’s involvement in the Hypercar class, is understood to be subject to approval by the WEC Selection Committee.

“Customer racing is, and will remain, an important pillar of Porsche’s motorsport strategy,” a Porsche spokesperson told Sportscar365. “Our customer support for the 963 and 911 GT3 R will remain unchanged. This is subject to confirmation of our customers’ entries by the FIA.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John