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LUFTGEKÜHLT

TOKYO

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You'll want to go to Tokyo just for the Porsche event taking place there.

​Tokyo is both the worst and the best place to be interested in cars. On the one hand, parking is exorbitantly expensive; you have to prove you already have a parking space to buy a car, and the heavy traffic makes Los Angeles look like child's play. On the other hand, all kinds of car culture are represented, there are tons of excellent and/or quirky museums, and most weekends you can go to the Daikoku parking lot and watch the strangest machines on the planet drive by while enjoying a salmon teriyaki onigiri.

Regulatory pressure on Tokyo's automotive enthusiasm hasn't slowed it down; it's distilled it. And this March, Japan is unearthing a cask of one of the finest Porsche spirits on the planet. Luftgekühlt's obsession with air-cooled vehicles is coming to Tokyo this spring, and tickets go on sale next month. Japan is already experiencing a tourism boom, but if you love classic Porsches, this could be the perfect excuse to go.

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The event is scheduled for Saturday, March 14th, and car registration opens next week. It will be held in a spectacular location: a currently closed elevated highway in the heart of the city. Any Gran Turismo fan will be familiar with the Tokyo Expressway circuit, and here you can drive a real-life version while admiring the 911s and 908s.

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There are countless famous and important Porsches around Tokyo, and who knows what else is hidden away in some underground garage, waiting its turn to be the center of attention. In promotional photos, Luft Tokyo showcased a 356, a 911, a 935, and a 910 that Tetsu Ikuzawa, the only official Porsche driver in Japan, drove in the 1968 Japanese Grand Prix. Ikuzawa has a collection of around 50 911s, so perhaps some of these are also scattered around the city.

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Another potential contender will be the Rothman-liveried Porsche 962C owned by collector Takeshi Moroi. Any Le Mans prototype is worthy of display, but Moroi-san is known for driving his car to convenience stores and parking it in front of them like a Toyota Prius. He also owns one of the two Toyota 2000GT convertibles from "You Only Live Twice." Expect the very best in this megalopolis of nearly 40 million people. Tickets will sell out fast, so you'll want to be ready in front of your computer when they go on sale on February 2nd. And if you miss out, get ready for some spectacular photos of the most incredible Porsches in the heart of one of the world's most vibrant automotive cultures.

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