The third edition of Luftgekuhlt’s Air|Water Driven by Mobil 1 at the Orange County (California) fairgrounds, held on Saturday, April 26 celebrated both air- and water-cooled Porsche racing and road-going cars and SUVs, with its emphasis on competition machinery.
To say that this Air|Water had some of both is to talk about the weather. While the cars displayed both outside and inside the halls of this 150-acre venue were arranged beautifully by Luftgekuhlt partners Jeff Zwart and Patrick Long, both of whom have successfully raced Porsche race cars in anger, many of the outside displays met up with a deluge that started shortly after the show’s 9am start. The rain lasted for nearly two hours and brought most attendees inside to look at the sheltered vehicles and to sample wares available from 40 different vendors.
Among the vendors was Meyle, which makes German-style license plates for Porsche owners to use, particularly for those states that don’t demand both front and rear license plates. As the rain pelted the roof, folks lined up 30-40 deep to get personalized license plates for free from this vendor. Once the skies cleared, so did the line for license plates. They were all gone by noon anyway!
There were many vehicle displays in the enclosed – or semi-enclosed areas of the OC Fairgrounds, which allowed visitors to Air|Water the opportunity to see many of them, albeit in crowded circumstances as the rain kept falling. Shortly before the clouds withdrew, a canary Porsche 914-6 was invited to start up and the sounds were like honey to bees as many in nearby enclosures came to hear, see and smell the six-cylinder engine’s call.
Once the sun re-emerged, everyone went outside again, slogged through the wet grass and took turns admiring both street-going and race cars from Porsche that dotted the grounds. There were even opportunities to take rides in current 911s to match-race a slalom course in the Porsche Thrill Ride and see who had the better driver for that particular lap. The lines were long but the exiting smiles were even wider.
Broad Arrow’s live auction enticed visitors as 55 Porsche vehicles crossed the block, bringing a total of around $15 million in sales. The prime lot was a 1989 RUF CTR Yellowbird that sold for $4.68 million. Chassis No. 23 was specified with a lightweight interior; it had the crowd in awe. A 2015 918 Spyder Weissach Martini Racing brought $2.59 million while a 1966 Porsche 906 coupe went for $1,528,500. Even a reimagined Singer 1990 Porsche 911 coupe fetched more than $1 million.
In contrast, bidding for a 1994 Porsche 968 coupe stopped at $8500; it eventually changed hands for $29,120. The 968 was the first car for which bidding was taken, following the offers of Porsche posters, race memorabilia and other Porsche-related collectibles. There was interest in most every single vehicle on display and available to purchase, but there was a slight bit of common sense in some of the bids. The high winning bids were for 911s and a superb 356B Super 90 of 1960 vintage, a Zagato coupe named “Sanction Lost” at $445,000
A second deluge came about an hour after the first water drop was completed, which again sent the large crowd into the covered areas of this venue. One of the more enticing exhibits indoors was a Porsche 911 whose brightwork was enhanced by artist Joshua Vides. This art installation, co-created with Jeff Zwart, the 911’s black and white exterior was a draw, even as it stood next to a modern 911 ST model, which allowed Vides’ creation to emulate the themes of both air and water.
Even as Porsche fans dispersed following the close of this show, Long and Zwart were planning new magical Porsche shows. Dedicated exclusively to air-cooled Porsches, the duo announced that Luftgekuhlt 11 heads to Durham, North Carolina on October 4th for the first Luft held on the East Coast of the US. There is also a new Air|Water Driven by Mobil 1 event in Warsaw, Poland next month. June 13-14 is the date and a specially selected venue will host this latest celebration of both air- and water-cooled Porsches, old and new, road to race-prepped.
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