New Porsche Show Unites Air- And Water-Cooled Tribes

The annual Luftgekühlt (air-cooled) show has been a must-see for Porsche fans in California for the past decade, and beyond. But, as its name suggests, it wasn’t open to the marque’s water-cooled cars, so the organizers added a wassergekühlt display on day two last year. It must have been a hit because the Air|Water show went solo, becoming a standalone event that featured 1,000 Porsches of all ages and engine types.

The indoor and outdoor displays included classic air-cooled 356 and 911 models, modern supercars like the Carrera GT and 918 Spyder, and dedicated racers too. There was even a dirt section devoted to off-road-themed Porsches like SUVs and safari-style 911s.

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Visitors were also treated to guest appearances from Porsche engineers and designers, plus racers like Jörg Bergmeister, who has taken the chequered flag at venues like Spa, Daytona, and Le Mans behind the wheel of some fine Porsche machinery.

“I see it as the alter ego to Luft,” says co-founder and ex-Porsche works driver Patrick Long. “[It’s] a chance to do it differently and to celebrate some amazing cars that have been filling up our general parking lots these past years…and set in one of the most beautiful and popular areas of Southern California, which ironically has very little in the way of large automotive offerings.”

Air|Water 2024 has only just wrapped, but the men behind it and Luftgekühlt, Jeff Zwart and Patrick Long, have already committed to make the new, inclusive show an annual event. But you don’t need to wait a year to grab your next hit of Porsche action if you’re willing to jump on a plane or live in Europe. The team is running two more Air|Water events a little closer to Porsche’s home this summer, the first in Wroclaw, Poland from June 14-15, and the second in Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 7.