A Perfect Porsche Paradise at Boxengasse’s Megaphonics ‘24

Porsche! Just as you thought you’d heard it all – it turns out there is more:

Until this time last year I was unaware of Megaphonics or indeed Boxengasse (“Pit lane” in German), finding out about both through word of mouth. Boxengasse is the venue, literally next to Porsche specialists Autofarm, whose premises are leased from Boxengasse and who opened their doors and workshops for the event – their display included a superb 1970 Porsche 910 – and Megaphonics is their annual celebration of all things Porsche, but especially the air-cooled variety.

Megaphonics got it’s name from the characteristic exhausts used by historic racing Porsches. It’s been held since 2019 with this being its sixth iteration, and has got bigger with each year.Boxengasse calls itself “The unifying force within Porsche culture”. It occupies 100 acres (40.5 hectares) with some 50,000 square feet (4,650 square metres), soon to be 80,000sq ft or 7,400sqm of buildings, all set in a remote rural location near Bicester, and just a few kilometres from another great classic venue, Bicester Heritage.

The man behind the name is one Frank Cassidy, who has been building up Boxengasse over a number of years as a destination for Porsche specialists, customers and fans. Cassidy – a decades-long Porsche devotee – has been gradually building up Boxengasse, adding buildings and partners on site and he has plans to add more events besides Megaphonics.

This time around, there were some 30 trade stands on site including Porsche specialists plus food and music, with hundreds of visitor’s Porsches parked around the venue, yet despite its Porsche focus, it is open to all, and hordes of Porsche fans turned up on an unseasonably warm – by British standards – Sunday to indulge their passion for the marque, whether they were lucky enough to own a Porsche, lusted after one, or just admired them.

I was parked in the air-cooled area, and my immediate neighbours included an orange – or is it tangerine? – 1970 912 and a grey 356, fine company, and after a restorative coffee, it was time to check out the displays.

Taking a look at the curated displays first, it’s hard to know where to start, but an iconic 1970 Porsche 917LH (LangHeck) is as good a place as any. Indeed, there were a number of fabulous Porsche race cars to drool over, such as a 1968 908LH and a mighty 917/10 Can-Am car from 1971 – and these were in just one building.

In another large barn, two of Zagato’s finer efforts, a unique 356 Spyder in white (built in 1958 and restored to former glory eight years ago) and a 1960 356 Coupé in grey – I’ve seen one of the latter at Hampton Court, but never the Spyder, exquisite cars, both. The Coupé was actually originally designed by Zagato in 1959, but did not get built at the time; indeed, it wasn’t until 2015 that that design was discovered among the designer’s archives, and Porsche permitted nine examples to be built on 356 donor cars. An opportunity missed back in 1959, I think.

In the same building as these beauties, a 1957 550A Spyder and a 1955 550RS (owned by the same Dutchman referred to below) harked back to Porsche’s early competitive history, and an absolutely gorgeous 1966 906 – one of my favourite cars of all time.

Outside, there was more, much more. For example, not one, but two 959’s, surrounded by a variety of 911’s including a stunning blue 1975 930 Turbo and a 1978 Martini-liveried Turbo. Further afield, no fewer than four of what was – until the introduction of the astonishing 918 – the ultimate Porsche, the fabulous Carrera GT, a classic from the day it was launched.

Quite a few of the cars on show had been brought over from Europe – one Belgian collector supplied eleven cars, and a Dutchman I spoke to brought over a half a dozen, three of which were completely new to me, pieces of Porsche history I was totally unaware of. Two of the cars he brought over were Swiss-built Beutlers, coach-built on 356 running gear; the third, a tiny 1954 WD Denzel Super Sport 1300, built in Vienna.

The pretty yellow 1958 356A 1600, one of 26 built, I was told, had a touch of Peugeot at the front and Renault Caravelle/Floride (another rear-engined car, of course) at the back, to my eyes, at least, while the white 1960 356B Super 90, one of just seven built, was an attempt to build a small 4-seater saloon based on the 356 – the 356A, complete with late ‘50’s-style fins, works quite well, I think, and the 356B is less awkward than it might have been. It was delight to see such rare cars here in the UK.

Among the visitor cars were more air-cooled 911’s than I’ve ever seen in one place, and one of the things that struck me was the variety of colours – ‘70s Porsches in particular came in bright shades of yellow, blue, green, orange, magenta and red as well as the usual silver, white or black, and various shades in between. The air-cooled cars were parked in a separate area from the water-cooled ones, many of which are now approaching classic status themselves, with the first 996’s built in 1998.

In amongst the water-cooled 911’s was a smattering of 944s and the odd 924 and 928, but the stars of the show were – for me at least – unquestionably the hundreds of air-cooled 356’s and 911’s in all their colourful glory.

It was a superbly organised day, and as a single-marque event, it’s hard to see how it could be bettered. Access to Boxengasse is on a long, mainly single-track road but the marshalls got people parked quickly and efficiently, the curated displays were laid out with plenty of space around them and nowhere was it too crowded. There was a decent variety of food and drink, and if you were thus inclined, plenty of merchandise, mostly of a Porsche variety that you could spend your money on.

At £35 or €40, it’s not a cheap day out, but it’s undoubtedly value for money for all who have an enthusiasm for the Stuttgart make, and I’ll keep look-out for future events held at Boxengasse.