Porsche 963 in Apple Music livery for Long Beach IMSA race

Porsche presents its 963 prototypes in Apple Music livery at Long Beach IMSA race, arriving as championship leader after Daytona and Sebring wins. Learn more.

Porsche arrives at Long Beach not just with a new livery, but as the championship leader after victories at Daytona and Sebring — now facing a key constraint: increased car weight.

Two factory Porsche 963 prototypes from Porsche Penske Motorsport will compete in California wearing a striking Apple Music design. The collaboration builds on a partnership that began in 2019 with the launch of the Taycan, the first production car to feature fully integrated Apple Music. Since then, the service has become part of Porsche’s digital ecosystem, offering access to tens of millions of tracks directly through the cockpit interface.

The Long Beach round stands out for its format. At just 100 minutes, it is one of the shortest races in the IMSA calendar, held on a tight 3.167-kilometre street circuit with 11 corners. The layout, often compared to Monaco, leaves little room for error and places added importance on qualifying and track position. At the same time, the event remains one of North America’s most prominent street races, drawing over 200,000 spectators annually.

Against this backdrop, Porsche’s current form becomes even more significant. The 963 has already established itself as one of the most successful cars under LMDh regulations, and the 2026 season began with back-to-back overall wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. The No. 7 car, driven by Felipe Nasr and Julien Andlauer, secured both victories and leads the championship heading into Long Beach.

That success, however, comes with consequences. Under the Balance of Performance system, Porsche has been assigned an increased minimum weight of 1100 kilograms for the current-spec 963. On a short street circuit with frequent acceleration and braking zones, this adjustment could have a noticeable impact on performance.

The driver line-up remains unchanged for the sprint race. Kévin Estre and Laurens Vanthoor will pilot the No. 6 car, while Andlauer and Nasr continue in the No. 7 entry. In the customer field, JDC-Miller MotorSports will run a Porsche 963 with Laurin Heinrich and Tijmen van der Helm.

In the GTD category, Porsche will also be represented by the 911 GT3 R, a customer GT3 car powered by a naturally aspirated 4.2-litre flat-six engine producing around 565 horsepower. Particular attention will be on AO Racing’s “Roxy”, continuing the team’s distinctive approach to race car liveries.

Long Beach marks the beginning of the sprint phase of the IMSA season. After two endurance classics in Florida, teams now face shorter, more intense races where strategy and starting position become critical. For Porsche, it is an early test of maintaining momentum under tighter technical constraints.