The Air|Water extravaganza – which is not a trade show, or a race event, or a concours ‘d Elegance, or conference, or an auction – is a little bit of all of those – with the special flair of Porsche panache that sets it apart. The brainchild of two-time 15-year Porsche factory race driver Patrick Long and super designer+driver Howie Idelson, with added firepower from Jeff Zwart (tops among motorsports photographers and videographers over the past 40 years), Air|Water is about all things Porsche, then and now. And why the name Air|Water? Because the magnificent engines in Porsche cars were air-cooled in their first forty years, and since then have been water-cooled. Simple as that!
Presented under the umbrella of Luftgekühlt, Long and Idelson’s international auto racing brand, Air|Water is an immersive single-brand automotive event like no other, peppered with fascinations for Porsche enthusiasts of every age and stripe. In the words of the Air|Water team: “Air|Water is an exciting real-time experience, tailored principally for Porsche enthusiasts, but as a motivator for all automobile enthusiasts and participants. This unique gathering brings together a vibrant community of fans and owners of Porsche, celebrating the passion and camaraderie associated with Porsche vehicles, both vintage and modern, around the world.”
A highlight of this year’s [inaugural Poland Air|Water event] is a special exhibition featuring cars from the Porsche Museum and private collections, showcasing some of the most iconic and rarest Porsche racing and street-driven models in existence. Attendees are offered the rare opportunity to see these stunning vehicles up close, from classic models that define the brand’s heritage to modern masterpieces that reflect the marque’s innovative spirit.
At Air|Water, whether you’re a long-time Porsche aficionado or new to the community, ours is an event not to be missed. It presents a magical opportunity to immerse one’s self in the culture of all that is Porsche, surrounded by extraordinary vehicles and fellow enthusiasts in an historic setting. Step into a world where heritage and innovation collide: Air|Water — everything that is Porsche.”
Air|Water: The Idea. The Challenge. The Reality.
The Luftgekühlt brand – where Air|Water was conceived — is the brainchild of two-time Le Mans winning driver Patrick Long and noted Southern California creative director Howie Idelson. Long couldn’t find the car experience he wanted, so with the help of his friends he decided to create it. Patrick, Howie and a team of like-minded believers made it happen, magnificently.
Since the first gathering in 2014, the passionate core Luftgekühlt team has remained intact. Driven by the love of new perspectives, this Southern California-rooted brigade works on Air|Water Porsche happenings year-round. To execute major events globally, Air|Water’s (under the Luftgekühlt banner) talented force of event production experts, creatives, car handling specialists, production staff and volunteers are called upon to create a spectacular automotive experience that tantalizes the eyes, makes colorful imagination come to life and feeds the impassioned motorsports soul.
In The Words of the Air|Water team:
“Air-cooled Porsche history is our palette, unique venues are our canvas, and you the people create the masterpieces: it’s a happening.
We believe in doing things differently. In everything we produce, we strive to create an unparalleled user experience that delivers delight through cross-pollination of authentic storytelling, engineering science displayed, and creative art realized.”
Discover. Educate. Connect.
From the Air|Water team: “coloring outside the lines, Luftgekühlt represents a fresh perspective in the fragmented landscape of car culture. As the antidote to the traditional, we upend the well-established “golf course concours d’ Elegance” format with – instead — a car party that any and all will savor.”
“We are a team that produces extraordinary experiences, focused on the cars, the people who are responsible for automobile and racing’s incredible history, and the passionate community of enthusiasts and creators who bring it all to life and nourish the flame.”
“We value storytelling through creative expression and the inclusion of creatives who forge their own path. We like fresh ideas and we enjoy collaborating with like-minded people and brands.”
Vintage Racing Highlights: Air/Water Costa Mesa, April 2025
Because it would take a book to fully characterize the Air|Water experience in Costa Mesa, California on April 26th 2025 (which Air|Water offers on their website BTW) – our attentions here focus on two Porsche nuggets that few of us may never see anywhere else but at Air|Water.
Front and center upon walking through the ticket gates, alive and in the flesh was a virtually perfect example of a 1979 Porsche 935 IMSA-period factory-originated racecar. This fantastic classic, originally purchased, owned and raced in 1979 by then-Los Angeles Times owner Otis Chandler, was and remains a near perfect bespoke example of the turbocharged flat-6-cylinder Porsche 935 that dominated IMSA GT racing in the 1979 time period.
Over the past four decades, historians and collectors have come to regard the 935 as one of the all-time great racing Porsches. In various permutations, 935s were competitive for nine seasons, capturing outright victories at Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring, and were crucial to Porsche’s victories each year from 1976 to 1979 in the FIA World Championship of Makes. Today, these cars are pinnacle collectibles and are eligible to actively compete in the most prestigious historic racing events worldwide, including the Le Mans Classic and Rennsport Reunion. These exceedingly rare, historically significant and compelling Porsche 935s are intensely sought after by organizers of leading concours and marque gatherings in the USA and Abroad.
Today, with all of the originally-famous Martini Porsche Works 935s permanently held by the Porsche Museum and important private collections, the 37 customer 935s built by the Porsche factory from 1977 to 1979 (this one included) represent the ultimate prize for discerning collectors. Because many of these Porsche factory-built “customer 935s” were often extensively modified to remain competitive during active racing careers, few exist today at fundamentally original specification. This one (chassis #990 0027) is among the final, most-evolved customer 935s ever built and its unbroken ownership history place it among the very best examples of this rare breed ever constructed. At Air|Water, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to behold, for many visitors.
The Renowned International Race of Champions: Porsche, Really?
In one of the nondescript structures at the Orange County Fairgrounds where Air|Water 2025 was held, throngs of visitors galked in bewilderment at a collection of early 1970s Porsche racecars in Easter egg colors – one yellow, one pink, one orange, one blue and so on. Most people gazed with blank stares, while a few others smiled in reverent appreciation. They remembered.
These simple, elegant, purposeful Porsche racecars were the actual Porsche factory RSRs that comprised the original field of the first-ever IROC – the International Race of Champions — in which the top drivers from differing types of world racing all competed against each other in identical cars to see who was best!
The first International Race of Champions (IROC) was held at Riverside International Raceway in California in 1973, when the Porsche 911 was only nine years old. In this groundbreaking competition, the world’s top racing drivers all drove 911 Porsche Carrera RSRs, identical and distinguished from one another owing to their candy-colored paint schemes.
IROC, originally comprised of a series of four races that took place at Riverside Raceway and the Daytona International Speedway road course in the fall and winter of 1973–74, featured the likes of Emerson Fittipaldi (Formula 1), AJ Foyt (Indy), Richard Petty (NASCAR), Al Unser (Indy), and George Follmer (Can-Am). The Porsche RSR had already made headlines by winning the 24 Hours of Daytona earlier in 1973, followed by Italy’s Targa Florio. The epic IROC is chronicled in the splendid edition from Motorbooks, The IROC Porsches: The International Race of Champions, Porsche’s 911 RSR, and the Men Who Raced Them, by Matt Stone, which is now available on Amazon.
“The drivers’ incentive to compete was fierce, initially to demonstrate the talents and abilities of their own particular brands of racing,” as the publisher puts it, “though not to be understated was the draw of significant payout to winners.” Then-soon-to-be-legendary Porsche racer Mark Donohue won the first year’s championship, pocketing $54,000 USD (more than $300,000 USD in today’s dollars). Only the top six finishing drivers competed in all four races, which became “one of the most compelling and storied episodes in 911 racing history,” helping to cement and build this iconic sportscar’s reputation in the oncoming years and for all time.
After 1975, the IROC would continue for several more years, becoming a celebrated TV special event and continuous subject of motorsport journalists’ opinions on drivers. But alas, Detroit and NASCAR took over this one-of-a-kind masters match, in cars such as Chevy Camaros and Pontiac Firebirds, commonly running as undercard events at NASCAR races and mostly on ovals. Following IROC’s magnificent and meteoric 1973-74 introduction to American motorsport and world audiences, it was never the same after Detroit and NASCAR assumed the IROC reins.
Stunningly, 52 years after IROC’s Porsche RSR-powered IROC burst into the limelight at California’s iconic Riverside Raceway and the Daytona road course, the actual Porsche IROC cars were present at Air|Water, alive and on display at the April 26, 2025 gathering – in their original bright colors and with the drivers’ names on the cars, as they were in their IROC ’73-’74 beginnings. The thrill and rarity of this presentation was a forever experience for true auto racing and Porsche enthusiasts.
There were a great many additional Porsche wonders at Air|Water, April 2025, so many that we’re still processing them. The Air|Water experience is truly a matchless offering for Porsche devotees and passionate autosports audiences, and we look forward to many more to come.
