Porsche runs Apple livery at Laguna Seca

Porsche is showing up at Laguna Seca this weekend in one of motorsport’s great nerd-catnip paint schemes — the old rainbow Apple Computer colors. But the first thing to clear up is the car. This is not the No. 77 AO Racing 911 GT3 R. It’s the two factory Porsche 963 prototypes run by Porsche Penske Motorsport, and the race is the IMSA WeatherTech round on Sunday, May 3. ### What exactly is Porsche running? Porsche is wrapping both of its factory 963s in a design based on the Apple-sponsored Porsche 935 K3 from 1980. The cars are the No. 6 and No. 7 GTP entries, not a GT3 car, and Porsche says the look is a one-off for Laguna Seca’s retro-themed weekend. ### Why Apple? Because Porsche is stacking anniversaries. The company is celebrating 75 years of Porsche Motorsport in 2026, and it’s tying that to 50 years since Apple was founded in 1976. The old 935 livery gives Porsche a clean visual bridge between those two milestones — rainbow stripes, period-correct nostalgia, instant recognition. ### What’s the original car behind the tribute? The reference point is a Porsche 935 K3 that raced in 1980 in Apple Computer colors, including major endurance events like Le Mans. That car sits in a very specific corner of sports-car history — late-Group 5, huge fenders, giant turbo power prototype. ### So where did the AO Racing idea come from? Turns out that part was off. AO Racing is doing its own throwback at Laguna Seca, but it’s a self-parody “Jurassic throwback” built around “Sketchy,” a rough early version of its dinosaur-themed branding. AO’s No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 Rawr is part of the same weekend vibe, just not the Apple tribute. ### Why Laguna Seca? Because IMSA turned the whole May 1–3 Monterey weekend into a full throwback event. Teams across the paddock are running retro liveries, and IMSA has been actively promoting the race that way. Porsche’s Apple design lands better in that setting than it would at a normal round — it reads as part celebration, part fan service, part brand flex. ### Didn’t Porsche already do an Apple look this year? Yes — but it was different. At Long Beach in April, Porsche ran an Apple Music-themed livery on the same 963 prototypes. Laguna Seca switches from a modern Apple tie-in to a historic Apple Computer tribute, which makes this feel less like a sponsorship activation and more like a heritage play. ### Why does this matter beyond paint? Because endurance racing loves continuity. These cars change rulesets, drivetrains, and bodywork every few years, but liveries can make a modern machine feel connected to a much older story. The 963 is a hybrid GTP prototype built for today’s top class. The 935 K3 was a fire-breathing silhouette racer from another era. The paint is the shortcut that makes those two things talk to each other. ### Bottom line? The real news is simpler than the initial version: Porsche, not AO Racing, is carrying the Apple rainbow at Laguna Seca. And it’s doing it on its headline factory prototypes, which is why this one landed — it’s not just a cool throwback, it’s Porsche using one of Apple’s most recognizable old identities to make a modern GTP car feel historic.