Apple and motorsport don’t historically have much history together, outside of one rainbow-liveried Porsche 935 from 1980. Much more recently, of course, the brand has taken an increased interest in events on track, producing last year’s F1 movie and snapping up the U.S. rights to the sport itself. But the maker of Macs and iPhones is also gearing up for a surprise return appearance on an actual race car, and fittingly, it’s another Porsche.
Apple Music will sponsor a pair of Penske Porsche 963s at IMSA’s Long Beach Grand Prix this weekend, marking 46 years since that iconic 935 contested the likes of Sebring and Le Mans. The streaming service’s logo appears large on the Hypercar’s slender sides, with some minimal and retro warm-toned stripes breaking up the mostly white bodywork and connecting the headlights. The result looks good, if a little safe, but it does sort of align with Apple’s last branded race car.
Story goes that the original sponsorship deal came about because Apple founder Steve Jobs was a Porsche fan, and, in the late ’70s, took his 356 to Bob Garretson’s repair shop in Mountain View, California—a short trip from Cupertino, the town Apple is famously headquartered in. Garretson also drove for Dick Barbour’s sports car-racing crew.
One thing led to another, and Apple Computer wound up on one of Barbour’s cars for the 1980 season. Garretson was at the helm, alongside legends Bobby Rahal and Alan Moffat. The Apple 935 wasn’t particularly successful; it retired halfway through Le Mans and the best the trio mustered was third at Road America. Barbour’s previous efforts in ’78, ’79, and later in ’81 were more fruitful. But the car turned heads, and that was the point.
As for this Apple car, the No. 7 Penske 963 of Julien Andlauer and Felipe Nasr won the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring to kick off the current campaign, so there’s a very strong chance the team could continue the brands’ shared legacy with a victory. The IMSA race starts at 1 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, April 18, with IndyCar running on Sunday at 2:45 p.m.
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