Porsche 963 debuts Apple-inspired livery

Porsche’s 963 prototype is getting a nostalgia hit — but not the vague, mood-board kind. For this weekend’s IMSA race at Laguna Seca, Porsche Penske Motorsport is running both factory cars in a one-off livery based on the old Apple Computer-sponsored 935 K3 from 1980. That means rainbow striping, white bodywork, and a direct callback to one of the strangest and coolest crossovers in sports-car racing history. The timing is neat too — 2026 marks 75 years of Porsche Motorsport and 50 years since Apple was founded. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### What actually changed? The immediate news is simple: this is not a concept render or a social-media tease. Porsche said both of its factory 963s will race in the Apple Computer-inspired scheme at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on May 3. IMSA published the same plan, so this is a full race-weekend livery, not just a display car. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Why Apple? Because this is not a random Silicon Valley wink. Porsche says the design pays tribute to the first Apple-Porsche racing connection, when Dick Barbour Racing ran a 935 K3 in Apple colors during the 1980 season, including Le Mans. Porsche’s own racing site frames Laguna Seca as the right place to revive it — California is Apple territory, and the historical link is real. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Why the 935 K3? The 935 K3 is the anchor for the whole idea. That car came from Porsche’s turbocharged 935 family, but the K3 variant was Kremer’s heavily developed version — one of the monsters of late-1970s endurance racing. Porsche isn’t just b(newsroom.porsche.com) marketing-led. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Why put it on a 963? Because the 963 is Porsche’s current top-level prototype in IMSA and WEC — the modern face of the brand’s endurance program. Putting an old Apple Computer look on an LMDh-era car creates the contrast Porsche wants: cutting-edge hybrid prototype underneath, period-correct visual memory on top. Basically, it lets Porsche celebrate history without parking the story in a museum. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Is this connected to Apple Music? Yes — and that is the part that makes this more than a one-off joke. Porsche already ran both 963s in an Apple Music livery for Long Beach in April 2026. Laguna Seca shifts the same broader partnership from present-day branding into deep-cut heritage mode. So the Apple relationship did not begin with this throwback, but this is the version with much more texture. (imsa.com) ### Why Laguna Seca specifically? Partly geography, partly calendar. The race is the fourth IMSA round of 2026, and IMSA has leaned into a broader throwback theme for the Monterey weekend. Porsche is not the only team showing up with heritage graphics, which makes the setting useful — the retro look lands as part of an event-wide idea rather than a standalone stunt. (imsa.com) ### Does this matter beyond paint? A little, yes. Liveries are branding, but in endurance racing they also act like memory devices. Fans remember eras through colors as much as results. Porsche is using that well here — especially because the company is stacking anniversaries, current factory success, and a revived Apple connection into one easy visual. The catch (imsa.com)nce. But it absolutely changes how visible the story becomes. (newsroom.porsche.com) ### Bottom line? This is a heritage livery done the right way. It names the exact old car, ties into a real historical sponsor relationship, and puts the whole thing on Porsche’s current flagship prototype at a California race that fits the theme. Turns out the clever part is not that a Porsche 963 looks like an old Apple race car — it’s that the reference is precise enough to mean something.