The air-cooled engine helped create Porsche’s sports car reputation thanks to the success of the 356, 911 and Le-Mans winning race cars. The company is happy to celebrate this part of history. For example, the Luftgekühlt 8 in Los Angeles recently brought together owners and enthusiasts of this particular vehicle. Racers Jeff Zwart and Patrick Long were among the notables at the event.
The folks who attended Luftgekühlt 8 in Long Beach Harbor brought some really cool Porsches. Some sit in the California sun, and others are inside two 1940s-era warehouses.
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As the gallery below shows, there are 911s in every rainbow shade and all different body configurations. The 356 is also there, including the completely naked body of the Porsche Ersatzteile. Rare items such as the 550A Spyder, 718 RS, 906, and 910 are also available. Even the often unloved 914 appeared.
Porsche says that it arranges some cars in a certain look, like a bunch of Carrera RS vehicles. This creates an “Instagram-friendly party for keen photographers,” according to the company.
While early production Porsche models and racers used air-cooled engines, the company began looking for alternatives to this layout in the late 1970s. At the time, the brand offered a V8-powered 928 and a 924 co-developed with VW.
The 911 generation with the internal designation 993 turned out to be the last model of the brand with an air-cooled engine. It had a public premiere in 1993 and production ran through the 1998 model year.
There is no indication Porsche is introducing a new air-cooled vehicle. In fact, combustion engines don’t seem to have a long future for the brand. Companies are increasingly turning to EVs. This has already confirmed the next generation of the 718 Boxster and Cayman using an electric powertrain. Similarly, the Macan EV and a seven-passenger crossover are on their way. The 911 will eventually become electric but probably not until the 2030s.
