Air | Water 2026
Orange County Fairgrounds

Air | Water 2025 returned to the Orange County Fairgrounds on Saturday, April 26 (9 a.m.–3 p.m.), using an all-fairgrounds footprint that blended indoor halls, plazas, and curated feature areas. Despite a morning downpour that sent crowds under cover before skies brightened, the show delivered scale and variety: more than 1,000 Porsches on display and thousands of enthusiasts on site. The program spanned owner-driven entries and spotlight “hero” cars, with Broad Arrow’s all-Porsche auction adding momentum (US$15.3M total, 76% sell-through). Rain or shine, the format emphasized sightlines, storytelling, and access.

Load-in tells the story first. From the driver’s seat, I framed Patrick Long on the radio, two lines of Porsches stacking in my mirror, then rolled Soul to Squeeze onto the Main Mall—pavement still dark from the overnight rain. Inside, an air-cooled 964 faced a limited-edition 992.1 S/T, a neat thesis for the day. Outside, a pair of IROC 911s swept past to placement; back indoors, Jeff Zwart flashed by on a bike as a red 1982 935 drew lenses and towels. The tempo stayed brisk: twin 911 GT3 R Rennsport nose-to-nose; a 991 GT2 RS I kept circling—studying intakes, stance, and the way light sits on the rear quarters; a blue ’73 Carrera RSR; a Flying Lizard–liveried GT3 R; then a line of RUF 911s. Around the corner, a RUF CTR and a 918 Spyder caught open light.

When the rain returned, the crowds funneled inside. I came back to reflections everywhere—puddles mirroring fenders, a kid skipping through the downpour, Soul to Squeeze jeweled with beads, a 935 still sparkling. Out on the grass: a Singer Vehicle Design Turbo; the home-grown turbocharged outlaw “Speedhunter” (plate NONSTOCK); wet 356s; “Rexy,” “Roxy,” and a 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport posted at the autocross entrance. The lap closed with a 550 Spyder replica in the paddock, a rain-soaked 911 Targa, a black 911 S/T near the amphitheater, a McLaren Formula One car paired with a white 959, a Lola-Porsche B2K/10—and a 962 and 962 CR that didn’t so much end the walk as clarify it: endurance history standing there, steady, after the weather had its say.

Air | Water is Luftgekühlt’s complementary format—conceived by the same team to unite air-cooled heritage with modern, water-cooled performance. After its 2023 debut alongside Luft 9, the show stood on its own at the Orange County Fairgrounds in 2024. It returned there in 2025 with the same curatorial DNA: open, inclusive, and story-driven placement that brings visitors close to the machines. For me, the appeal is simple: one language, two lineages, shared in one space—proof that Porsche’s past and present belong in the same conversation.