Porsche Air|Water a Feast for Eyes and Ears

Celebrating Porsche cars is something racers Patrick Long and Jeff Zwart love to do. Their nine (so far) Luftgekuhlt festivals for significant air-cooled Porsche cars have been held around the world and are always well-attended affairs.

Long, who has been a factory Porsche driver for at minimum 20 years and, since his 2021 retirement continues to be an ambassador for the marque, as well as Zwart, a master photographer and videographer whose winning trips to the top of Pikes Peak – in Porsche cars – are the stuff of legend, put on an Air|Water show at the Orange County Fair and Events Center in Costa Mesa, California that truly embodied the spirit of Porsche.

The number of air- and water-cooled Porsche cars displaying “I drove here” stickers on April 27, 2024 was nearly as numerous as the trailer queens; all were polished and prepped to the max as they shared space with brethren ranging from historic to the latest race and street cars, on a Saturday morning when skies cleared quickly to make the day as shiny as the rolling art.

Of course there were a wide variety of racing cars scattered throughout the grounds. Air|Water took over every single building at these fairgrounds, together with most of the parking lots. Some cars were angled on the roadway, others placed on plazas and still more stationed on a dirt track that normally hosts single-speed speedway motorcycles.

Organizers sent out requests for entries; many were turned away due to space constraints, but one worker said there were just under 1,000 cars and SUVs accepted for entry. They ranged from air-cooled 356 coupes and cabriolets from the 1950s through to the latest water-cooled 911s and Macan, Cayenne SUVs. There were gas and electric vehicles, street cars and race cars, including legendary racing cars that have won Le Mans to Porsche Formula One entries and IMSA, WEC endurance racing champions.

Included among the racing cars is the 2023 “Rexy” Porsche 911 GT3 R from AO Racing. The car’s bright green racing livery, as the teams principal and driver, PJ Hyatt, has a T-Rex for his son and unicorn for his daughter painted on the helmet he uses in competition. “Rexy” competes in IMSA GTD and the World Endurance Championship where it is a kid magnet. Here, too.

The 2013 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R was a magnet for everyone attending, especially when the car’s former driver, Jorg Bergmeister started it up and ran the car for a good five minutes. It had recently competed, with owner Robert Dalrymple at the wheel, at nearby Willow Springs; thankfully there was sufficient fuel in the Porsche Werks racer that claimed second place overall at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in 2013.

The 1977 Brumos Porsche 934/5 was the first of ten such models built by Porsche for the IMSA championship and run under Group 4 regulations. Its turbocharged boxer air-cooled engine has more power than the standard 934; it used the wider wheels and rear wing from the 935, and was shipped to Brumos Racing to be run by Peter Gregg and Jim Busby in the 1977 12 Hours of Sebring. The duo qualified on pole and were leading until the right front wheel fell off after their final pit stop. While it returned to the pits and was repaired, the car finished third overall.

The 1991 Footwork Arrows FA12-02 was entered in the 1991 FIA Formula One World Championship, fitted with the new Porsche 3512 engine, its nomenclature derived from its 3.5-liter displacement and V12 configuration. The car on display was driven by Michele Alboreto at Canada and, while the year proved to be challenging for Footwork Arrows, the transition to a raised nose design makes the F1 cars of this era some that are easily recognizable.

Among other racing cars on display are the “Sachs” 1985 Porsche 962-116, derived from the 956 for IMSA racing, the 1969 Porsche 908/02 LH Spyder that was auctioned during the Broad Arrow Live Auction taking place during this gathering – there were nearly 60 cars auctioned.

There were major exhibits from leading and regular Porsche sponsors, including Pirelli, Hagerty, Meguiar’s, Palm Springs Porsche, Gunther Works, Singer, Roma and Leica. A dedicated hall housed more than 20 exhibitors specifically serving Porsche enthusiasts. Some of them used vintage VW buses to exhibit their wares. This same hall hosted Long, Zwart and Bergmeister for an autograph session for the Luftgekuhlt book and posters from this show, held in the late morning.

As fans of Porsche mingled, they could escape the sunlight within the halls or scatter beneath trees; several food and drink stations were on the premises. Special shout-out to Jeff Zwart, who curated the halls, plaza areas and the racetrack to properly showcase every vehicle on display.

This was the second Air|Water display. The first was held last year on Mare Island, just north of Oakland, as part of “Luft 9”, the celebration of air-cooled Porsche cars.