The Porsche 963 makes the hearts of motorsport nostalgics beat faster: Proton has presented the design of its hypercar for the 2024 World Endurance Championship (WEC). The red, white and black customer car is reminiscent of Porsche paintwork from the 1980s and 1990s.
At that time, the Joest Porsche in these colors was used on both sides of the Atlantic in races such as the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. FAT already sponsored the Dauer 962 LM in 1994, with which Yannick Dalmas, Hurley Haywood and Mauro Baldi won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The company no longer exists in its 1990s form, but the brand has been revived to promote events and also automotive culture. Proton enters the 2024 WEC season with this revived brand, which brings real nostalgia.
Proton was already competing in WEC and IMSA at the end of the 2024 WEC season, back then with almost identical Weathertec designs. In IMSA, the company was replaced by Mustang Sampling, so the Proton Porsche shines again in gold and black in the USA. In the WEC, FAT has taken the place of Weathertec.
The driver squad for the 2024 WEC season was also announced by Proton. Neel Jani, Harry Tincknell and Julien Andlauer are the team’s drivers, although it is not clear whether Tincknell will contest all races as there are two overlaps with his Ford program in IMSA GTD. The Proton Porsche will be seen on the track for the first time at the prologue in Doha, where the season opener will also take place on March 2nd.