Porsche USA creates own motor oil for brand's air-cooled cars

Porsche's North American division has come out with its own engine oil designed specifically "for air-cooled flat-four and flat-six Porsche engines."

Developed in collaboration with the Porsche Development Center in Weissach, Germany, the Porsche Classic Motor Oil is designed to the meet the lubrication requirements of all air-cooled Porsche engines which the German carmaker ceased to produce in 1997.

According to Porsche, the thermal load experienced by air-cooled engines is higher than water-cooled units, "which means that the engine oil has to work harder to cool the engine down." In addition, the larger oil volume supposedly requires a longer oil-heating time, while the high-power output per liter of the engines also results in high compression and high pressures.

"Together with the different temperature zones that are characteristic of air-cooled engines, this means that the oil needs a high 'hidden' performance reserve," Porsche added in a statement.

The Porsche Classic Motor Oil comes in two different versions: 20W-50 for all 356, 914 and 911 models up to the 2.7-liter G-model; and 10W-60 for flat-six engines of 3.0 liters and larger.