A Rainy Morning Couldn’t Wash Out the 2025 Air|Water Porsche Meet

The creators behind the popular Luftgekühlt classic Porsche show have been expanding, and April 2025 marked the second Air|Water event, held this year in Costa Mesa, CA. Air|Water was created by the same team who birthed Luftgekühlt to showcase not only Porsche’s iconic air-cooled vehicles, but also include more modern, water-cooled models as well as race cars. The event was held at the Orange County Fair and Event Center to showcase the uniqueness and individuality Porsche vehicles have offered over the years. It’s essentially everything Porsche. The early morning weather was more water than air, but it didn’t scare anyone off, and by the time the sun came out, there was already a rainbow of Porsche colors for it to shine on.

It’s known that Porsche offers a Paint-to-Sample (PTS) program that has a vast selection of classic colors from past vehicles offered on modern new-car orders. But customization doesn’t end there; interiors are also where owners create a unique identity to their own vehicles. The seat inlay has been a design choice for decades where we’ve seen a variety of inserts like these.

The colors offered in the automakers’ paint-to-sample (PTS) program originate from a variety of Porsche shades of the past that can be custom ordered on most new Porsche models, for a hefty price.

Nine Paint to Sample 911 GT3s headlined by four very rare 997 GT3 RS 4.0 versions.

Another example of classic factory shades of blues and purples. This area showcases the origins of some paint-to-sample colors. The modern PTS cars sit behind the Porsche models that were originally dressed in those colors.

Celebrating the brand’s turbo era, a 930, McLaren MP4/2 TAG-Porsche, and a 959 are essentially placed on a pedestal, displaying the engineering achievements the brand has conquered through its history.

The legendary McLaren MP4/2 TAG-Porsche raced by World Champion Alain Prost in 1985.

Guests and exhibitors had to battle some rain throughout the event, but it didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the vehicles on display. A very literal car show of air and water.

Air|Water founder Patrick Long raced this 997 GT3 RSR at Le Mans in 2011. The team, Flying Lizard Motorsports, enlisted famed helmet painter and artist Troy Lee to design their art car livery.

In 2023 Porsche introduced the Porsche 911 GT3 R Rennsport at Rennsport Reunion. Only 77 of these track-only 911s were made worldwide and were built without the usual homologation racing regulations. Even though this track-only car won’t meet any series regulations to compete in, nor is it legal for the street, this was built to offer what Porsche believes is the purist performance experience.

Air|Water didn’t forget the beloved transaxle cars that Porsche was known for throughout the 1980s. There were a variety of these examples from original restorations, custom safari-style builds, and even a rare 924 Carrera GT

Former Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler ordered this Porsche 935 in 1979. He raced it once at the IMSA Riverside Grand Prix and then retired it to his collection, running it occasionally at track days and Porsche Club events.

Many Porsches have been built for when the pavement ends. The recent production 911 Dakar model celebrated Porsche’s rally history and was a factory-built, lifted, off-road focused 911 based on the 992.1 GTS. Over the years, owners have drawn their own inspiration from Porsche’s history of rally racing and have converted all types of Porsche models into their own off-road vision.

During production of the 1984 Carrera 3.2, Porsche did not originally manufacture enough vehicles to meet homologation requirements for Group B rally, so they took the final 20 production 3.0-liter 911 SC models and developed them into RS versions to fit within the requirements. Known internally as the Type 954, this vehicle on display is an example of one of the Rothmans 964 SC/RS that went on to compete in Group B rally. This endeavor later inspired owners to build their own off-road modified 911s, commonly known as Safari 911s.

In 2009 Porsche built 285 of this Cayenne S Transsyberia to commemorate their success with the rally version of the SUV.

Air|Water co-founder Jeff Zwart currently runs this 997 GT3 Cup car in the Colorado Hill Climb Association series of off-road races.

This pair of GT3 RSs parked create a scene that’s very California. Both are dressed in PTS colors and representing the modern 992.1 and 991.1 generations.

Some of the rarest and most desirable driver-focused 911s are the Carrera RS models. Originally built to meet homologation rules in order to go racing, Porsche has created production RS models for the street since 1973 and continues to utilize the RS badge today as their most track-focused models. This wasn’t the only example displayed at Air|Water, but this blue caught our eye over the others.

This Lola B2k/10 was raced by Champion Porsche from 2000 to 2002. It was the only Lola B2K/10 fitted with Porsche power. It raced twice at the 24 Hours of Daytona, in 2001 and 2002.

The racing world is no stranger to art cars, and Porsche has had its fair share. Artist Joshua Vides shares his love for Porsches and creates his own art piece by using a 1993 Porsche Carrera (964) as his canvas. Known for his high-contrast, hand-painted artwork, Vides creates a 964 with a unique and standout look.

This beautiful 964 sits on the lawn of the OC Fair and Events Center with an A-4 Skyhawk fighter jet as its backdrop.

This iconic 1982 Bob Akin Coca-Cola 935 was surrounded by a handful of IROC series 911s in an array of vibrant colors.

The 996-generation Porsche 911 didn’t receive a similar growth in popularity as other past generations, until recently. Love or hate the design, the 996 was still groundbreaking for the brand. This generation of 911 was the very first of Porsche’s water-cooled 911 era, and the first generation to offer the GT3 variant, which went on to become one of the most desired models in the 911 lineup.

Like many classic/vintage cars throughout history, Porsches have been found tucked away in barns across the world, known commonly as “barn-finds”. This display took that very literally and showcased some amazing barn-find restorations.

On the grounds of the Orange County Fair and Events Center in Costa Mesa, California, there is a barn that houses cows, horses, pigs, and other farm animals. It was only fitting that a 911 would be placed inside to show the unique backdrops that have characterized all Luftgekühlt events.

There’s something about seeing a 911 dressed in its original paint showing all the scratches, chips, and imperfections over the years. Not all barn finds need to look brand-new after restoration, some are just fine being a time capsule.

In 2018 Porsche decked out their IMSA 911 RSRs in throwback Mobil One for Petit Le Mans. This livery was originally worn by the 1998 Le Mans–winning 911 GT1-98.

Artist Joshua Vides’s 964 represents the air-cooled 911. The latest and greatest of the water-cooled 911s currently is the 911 ST.

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