Apple Music to Be Official Sponsor of Porsche at IMSA (with a Livery reminiscent of the 935)
The two Porsche 963 cars from Porsche Penske Motorsport will hit the track at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (April 18) featuring a special livery designed by Apple Music: vibrant colors and logos of the Cupertino streaming service adorn both GTP vehicles for what is the third round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship 2026.
A Partnership Born on the Road, Now on the Track
The collaboration between the two brands dates back to 2019 when the Porsche Taycan became the world's first car to offer Apple Music "built-in" as a fully integrated streaming experience. Through the Porsche Advanced Cockpit, users have direct access to a catalog of over 100 million tracks. What began as a consumer market collaboration now hits the California street circuit, with the special livery also designed to celebrate Porsche Motorsport's 75th anniversary.
"We are extremely proud of our collaboration with Apple Music," said Thomas Laudenbach, Vice President Porsche Motorsport. "After our Mobil 1-themed appearance at Sebring, this is another milestone. I can’t wait to see the fans' reaction."
The launch follows a season that started in the best possible way: Porsche Penske won both opening races, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, and leads both the driver and manufacturer standings.
The Long Beach Street Course measures 3.167 km with 11 turns, run clockwise around the Convention Center. The backdrop is iconic: the start straight runs along the Pacific Ocean, with the Queen Mary ocean liner providing a backdrop to the final curve. The IMSA race lasts only 100 minutes, making it one of the shortest rounds on the North American calendar, and historically favors Porsche: the 963 won its first overall race right here in 2023, with a repeat in 2025.
For the third round of the season, the sprint regulations require two drivers per vehicle. The #6 will be driven by Kévin Estre (FRA) and Laurens Vanthoor (BEL); the #7, the winning car at Daytona and Sebring, by Julien Andlauer (FRA) and Felipe Nasr (BRA). However, attention must be paid to the Balance of Performance handicap: as noted by Urs Kuratle, Director Factory Motorsport LMDh, the recent victories have led to a significant weight increase on the two factory cars. As reported by Sportscar365, Porsche Penske approaches Long Beach with an additional 99 pounds of weight compared to competitors.
The Apple Music livery of the Porsche 963 at Long Beach is not by chance: it explicitly invokes the 1980 Porsche 935, which was the first and only Porsche race car to carry the historic rainbow Apple logo in competition at Sebring and Le Mans. The new 2026 livery marks exactly 46 years since that iconic appearance of the "rainbow Apple" 935, creating a link that is both aesthetic and historical.
The 963 at Long Beach showcases a predominantly white body with black, pink, and various shades of red stripes running along the nose and extending down the center of the car, a color palette reminiscent of the warm colors and graphics of the heritage liveries of the 935, some of which used similar shade combinations. The reference is not a direct copy but a stylistic homage consistent with the 75th anniversary campaign of Porsche Motorsport, which has brought special liveries across various series throughout 2026.
GTD: Wright Motorsports' #120 Also in Action
In the GTD category, Wright Motorsports fields the Porsche 911 GT3 R #120 with Adam Adelson (USA) and Callum Ilott (GBR). The colors of AO Racing also return with the "Roxy" #177 entrusted to Harry King and Mikkel Pedersen, the same team that won the GTD class last year at Long Beach with the "Rexy." The GTD Pro class is not on the schedule for this street round. The weekend also includes the IndyCar race, with the Porsche partner Team Penske fielding three single-seaters on the same track.