Featuring a curated selection of over 1,000 Porsches, Air|Water, held on April 27th, 2024, created an impressive showcase for air and water-cooled models representing over seven decades of Porsche evolution. Under cool and sunny skies at the Orange County Fair Grounds in Costa Mesa, California, Porsches displayed both indoors and outdoors intrigued a large and enthusiastic crowd of the ever-growing “Porsche faithful.”
Background
Air|Water arose from the highly successful celebration of air-cooled Porsches, Luftgekühlt (air-cooled in German). Event founders Howie Idleson (Marketing) and Patrick Long (Vehicles), started this next-level car show experience with the first gathering in 2014. Maybe a few dozen cars and 100 people showed up. Since then, the event has continued to grow, and with the talented photographer, producer, and Porsche racer Jeff Zwart on board, have evolved into artistic car displays that keep fans coming back for more.
Enter Air|Water
While Luftgekühlt is strictly for air-cooled Porsches (from the very first Porsche 356-001 completed in June of 1948 through the last 993 series 911 manufactured in 1998), the team wanted to do something more inclusive of the entire Porsche fan base and created Air|Water to include the water-cooled models that built today. Their first Air|Water gathering in 2023 near San Francisco was a success, hence the decision to execute the second iteration in Porsche-crazy Southern California.
In an effort not to be outdone by past Luftgekühlt gatherings, Air|Water went to great lengths to provide something more than just a Porsche car display. This included innovative ways for attendees to delve deeper into the featured vehicles, such as QR stickers that linked to owner-submitted profiles, complete with a fan-favorite voting feature. Recognizing the enthusiasm surrounding off-road Porsche adventures, Air|Water set aside a dedicated area to celebrate overland and rally builds. Moreover, an indoor hall was curated to host two dozen exhibitors catering specifically to Porsche enthusiasts, enhancing the overall experience for all attendees.
Patrick Long comments
“This has always been our plan,” says Long, who wanted to reach a new crowd, as well as existing Luft fans. “I see it as the alter ego to Luft; 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. And it’s not just cars in our parking lot, but the amazing ‘vintage’ of race and street from transaxle models up to water-cooled models like the Carrera GT and 918 Spyder.”
Broad Arrow Auction
An adjunct to the event, Hagerty-owned Broad Arrow Auctions held their Air|Water Auction inside a large building at the center of the show. The auction consisted of 56 cars and 41 lots of memorabilia and saw strong attendance from both registered bidders and their guests alongside show spectators, resulting in a standing-room-only atmosphere for the entire event. Total sales surpassed $15.6M with a sell-through rate of 80% for the event.
The top sale from the auction was the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder Weissach, which sold for $2,865,000, with second spot honors going to the 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort, which sold for $1,930,000. The 2005 Porsche Carrera GT rounded out the top three with a sale price of $1,792,500. A notable aftersale included the 1997 RUF BTR Twin which sold for $1,150,000 post-auction.
On the horizon
The next two Luftgekühlts will occur in Wrocław, Poland, from 14-15 June 2024 and in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 7 September 2024. It is rumored that Air|Water will return to the same Orange County, CA, location for several years to come, making it a little easier for the Porsche army to sleep at night.
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