My 964 C2 spent the height of summer in hibernation, with its battery disconnected. Now that Obon has passed and the weather is starting to cool, my husband finally woke our air-cooled Porsche from its slumber. He’s written about what it was like to drive again after a long break—read on if you’d like to hear about it.

Wake Up, 964.

Around Obon this year, I started dreaming about our air-cooled Porsche—and my withdrawal symptoms were getting hard to ignore. With the worst of the heat finally easing, I decided it was time to wake the 964 from its summer hibernation. (Already?!)

My beloved air-cooled Porsche had been tucked away since early July, quietly waiting in the tower parking garage for the day it could hit the road again.

I opened the hood and cautiously switched on the battery’s master switch. The light in the trunk came on, and the 911 quietly opened its eyes.

I settled into the driver’s seat and turned the ignition on. Listening for the fuel pump and other electrical systems, I slowly turned the key.

“It’s alive!”

At that moment, I felt just like Amuro Ray from the classic anime series *Mobile Suit Gundam*. The starter spun with gusto, and after a slightly long crank, the flat-six woke up as if nothing had happened.

The motorcycle-like rumble, the air pulsing through the cabin, and the unmistakable scent inside an air-cooled Porsche brought it all back: “Ah, this is it!” I’d only been away from the car for about a month and a half, but somehow it felt as if much longer had passed.

How the 964 Drives

I shifted the Tiptronic into D and eased away. I still can’t quite find a comfortable seating position in this car, but the solid body and the way it passes road imperfections straight through to you make it clear that you’re “piloting” a car.

When I tried the handling again after such a long break, I found the steering heavy at town speeds, with a gentle rather than eager turn-in. Someone with no experience of sporty driving might think it was simply a sluggish car.

But the 964 responds to the slightest change in throttle or brake input. Its handling reflects the driver’s skill directly, and once you pay attention to weight transfer, it becomes a wonderfully engaging car to drive.

Even a simple lane change feels completely different depending on how you do it. Hold the throttle steady and change lanes without thinking, and the car moves one way; ease off the throttle just before turning the wheel, and it moves another.

I’ve been driving the GT3 a lot lately, which makes the contrast even more striking: compared with a Porsche from this era, today’s 911 feels almost like a mid-engine car. Of course, when you push it, you can tell it’s rear-engined. But in everyday driving, you rarely think about its RR layout. Just turn the wheel, and it takes a clean, natural line.

I’d like to take a closer look at the differences between water-cooled and air-cooled 911s in a future article.

An Air-Cooled Porsche Tour This Fall

After I brought the car out of hibernation, the rain set in for a while, keeping it off the road. But today the skies cleared, and I drove the air-cooled 911 to work for the first time in ages. With the window cracked open, I took it easy and listened to the engine. I’ve often thought that one of the things that makes an air-cooled Porsche special is how its ride and character seem to change from day to day.

Take precise measurements, and perhaps nothing has changed at all. Yet the ride and feel often seem subtly different each time I get behind the wheel.

Today, the ride was exceptionally supple. On smooth pavement, the car seemed to glide along effortlessly. Bathed in the morning sun, I headed east on the Hanshin Expressway Kobe Route. As I merged, I switched the Tiptronic to manual mode and accelerated in second and third gear. Around town, the engine’s sound is full of pulses; under acceleration, it shifts from a “putt-putt” to a “vroom,” then rises into a sustained “shaaaan!”—a glorious note that quickly carries the car into the flow of traffic.

The sound of an air-cooled engine, especially after a long break, has so many layers. Engine noise is always a kind of symphony, with everything from deep bass to high notes shifting continuously as the revs rise. But an air-cooled Porsche’s engine seems to have an even broader range, with combustion, exhaust, valvetrain, intake, and gear sounds blending together directly to create that unmistakable voice.

As the office drew closer, I found myself thinking, “That’s it already?” As always, I genuinely hated to see my commute come to an end. I parked my beloved air-cooled Porsche and reluctantly walked away.

Before fall, I’m hoping to take care of a few maintenance items and get this beauty in top shape for a touring drive together.