The Best All-Around Air-Cooled Porsche

At the Hagerty Seminar, The Best All-Around Porsches at Scottsdale 2020, the Porsches chosen by the experts from Hagerty, PCA and RM Sotheby were all water-cooled Porsches. Thankfully a question from the audience asked the panelists to name their favorite air-cooled Porsche.

1972 Porsche 911E

They didn’t discuss this as much as I would have liked for Air Brigade members but the answer that was put forth by Nathan Merz of Columbia Valley Luxury Cars was the last of the four-cylinder transaxle cars, specifically a 1968 912. He admitted that he had just bought himself one six months prior. His reason for the opinion is that it is fun to drive and captures the original Porsche essence.

For Robb Sass, Editor-in-Chief of Porsche Panorama his choice was a mechanically fuel injected (MFI) 1971 Porsche 911E 2.2 liter. He referred to it as a bargain 911S.

Matt Malumet from RM Sotheby’s concurred on the choice of the MFI 911’s but also mentioned a Euro 3.0 liter 911.

Porsche 914 | Image RM Sotheby's

The surprising choice was his mentions of the Porsche 914/6 that he believes is coming on strong. And he suggested not forgetting the 914 4-cylinder that were once considered an ugly duckling are now becoming a swan. As Rob Sass stated since he owns one is that “Every time you drive one it puts a smile on your face.”

Matt came back to suggest a Carrera GT as the ultimate car to pursue. The performance is unbelievable.

Several air-cooled Porsches made the honorable mention including the Porsche 914, Porsche Carrera 3.2 and the Porsche 911SC.

1969 Porsche 912 Targa

At the end of the question and answer session someone asked specifically about the 912 that had not been discussed during the seminar. The Porsche 912 as mentioned previously is very well liked and is often overlooked. We tend to forget that the 912 originally out-sold the 911 2:1 because Porsche enthusiasts believed that a Porsche had to be a 4-cylinder car and the 911 were expensive. A Porsche 912 will put you into events and prices are much more affordable than an early 911.

My take away from the seminar is that all Porsche models have their supporters of their model being the best all-around Porsche. It all comes down to personal preference: do you want a more modern Porsche with the latest comfort and performance enhancements or are you looking to experience that throwback driving experience where the driver is in control without any of today’s driving aids.

To read about the rec-cap of the entire seminar that primarily focused on water-cooled Porsches, use this link to Best All-Around Porsches.

To view the entire 90 minute Livestream Facebook seminar replayed, you can use this link but you need to be a Facebook member to access.

Tags: Porsche 912, Porsche 912 Targa, Classic Porsche, Air-Cooled Porsche, Best All-Around Porsche