Air | Water 2026 — Emory Motorsports
OC 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.

Emory set up on the lawn across from the Baja Bar & Grill—open sightlines that let the details do the talking. The Emory Special 356 in Porsche PTS Superior Red Metallic (for @coblitz) wears the color like glass; louvers and bead-rolled seams catch the soft light, and the cabin reads factory-correct and freshly finished—complete with a wood steering wheel, crisp gauge faces, and bright bezels that look new without drawing attention to themselves. The black 356 Outlaw coupe felt all business as the weather shifted: engine bay open with tidy routing and heat shielding, and, through the side glass, the interior appearing in layered reflections as people moved past.

The aquamarine Speedster gathered its own orbit. Droplets beaded along the snap lines of the buttoned-down canopy; light pooled across the instruments; the twin-grill decklid carried the “Emory Outlaw” badge—quiet, exact. When the squall hit, covers swept over the open cars, and the crew tucked under the overhang—a brief intermission before the day reset.

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.