This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of THE SHOP magazine.
A while back we wrote about the phenomenon of reimagined Porsches—a trend that continues to sweep the performance industry. The development of this performance niche continues to grow in no small measure due to events such as Luftgekühlt, which literally translate from German to “air-cooled.”
Luftgekühlt was co-founded 10 years ago by ex-Porsche factory driver Patrick Long and Creative Director Jeff Zwart. Long participated in the very first Red Bull Formula 1 Driver Search. In so doing, the Thousand Oaks, California resident also caught the attention of Porsche, and for 20 years enjoyed success with the company from Daytona to Le Mans.
Zwart might not be a household name because he’s usually behind a camera. Born in Long Beach, California, in 1955, he studied at ArtCenter College of Design and began his photography career shooting for Road & Track magazine. Eventually, he gravitated to shooting TV commercials and magazine ads, but Zwart is also an accomplished racer, having taken several Porsches to wins at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and elsewhere.
It might seem odd that these two racers would develop a static car show, but with a huge group of Porsche enthusiasts in Los Angeles and few local racetracks, they saw desire from owners wanting to gather.
PORSCHES IN THE PARKING LOT
Long felt regular car shows failed to capture the attention of Porsche owners or the excitement of the marque. And standing around in a car park had limited appeal for families.
“Luft is about curation and storytelling,” says Long. “Not only the stories of prominent cars and owners, but the story of normal people who’ve built a car with their parents in their garage, all the way up to some of the most celebrated and decorated championship race cars, and everything in between. We focus on different storylines and themes to highlight cars that haven’t been seen repeatedly.
Long adds that the beauty of the Porsche brand is that there is so much to take in, so much history and so many amazing cars.
“So, we continue to make the show fun and interesting by focusing on the cars we want to learn about ourselves,” he notes.
Held the first weekend in October, Luftgekühlt now forms the endgame of what has become a week-long event with fans flying in from around the globe. In 2024, Luft was celebrating its 10th anniversary, so there was a pre-party at Gunther Werks in Huntington Beach and a Rise & Shine pre-party at Race Service in Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA celebrated 50 years of the 911 Turbo with a cocktail party, while Mobil 1 hosted an air-cooled caravan from Porsche Santa Clarita with an official after-Luft brunch. And, of course, there were other events going on at venues across the city for Porsche fans.
With 2024 marking the 50th anniversary of the legendary 911 Turbo, Luft 10 celebrated the milestone by showcasing a number of landmark vehicles, including a collection of original, modified and racing examples such as the 930-based Vasek Polak Racing Porsche 934, which won the 1976 Trans-Am Championship.
These formed part of the 400 vehicles on display among the movie sets within the Universal Studios Backlot—yes, really!—confirming this is an event with gravitas, attracting sponsors such as Porsche Classic, Meguiar’s, Tag Heuer, Pirelli and more.
“The first time Luft went to Universal Studios it was described as the most ambitious car show in the world.” says Greg Emmerson, former editor of European Car magazine and now involved in the show series. “The sequel just blew it out of the water with more movie sets, more cars and more people.”
After such a high-profile event, one could easily ask, “How do they top that?” But Long has already stated Luft has big plans.
CAR SHOW MEETS ART SHOW
David Steele, executive director of the American Hot Rod Foundation, longtime Porsche fan and recent 911 owner, says of Luft, “Ticket prices for the one-day event were $95, and if you wanted special parking at Universal that was another $35. That said, one of the things I like to see emerging in the hobby is events like Luft are being fine-tuned, becoming more specific as they chase an aesthetic that becomes more like an art installation. To the Porschephile, the cars are rolling works of art, and I love the direction events like Luft are taking.”
Long confirms this opinion saying, noting the team views Luft as a production rather than a parking lot or racetrack full of vehicles.
“That approach has kickstarted a revolution in how we all look at car shows today, and I’m proud that people give us credit for having a big stake in that,” he says.
Throughout its history, Luft has tried to reinvent itself each year, finding radical new locations to host the show. Interestingly, Luft 9 in 2023 was located at Mare Island, Vallejo, California, which was the oldest, (although now disused) naval base on the West Coast.
The sleek, air-cooled Porsches made an interesting juxtaposition with the imposing industrial shipyard backdrop with its brick warehouses and steel cranes. Over the course of the two-day event, more than 12,000 spectators turned out to see more than 1,000 cars.
All this is a lot of hot air, and the Luft organizers realized they had missed a large proportion of their potential market by not connecting with the owners of newer liquid-cooled cars, SUVs and even EVs. To answer the call of all Porsche owners, they launched Air|Water during the Luft 9 weekend to celebrate 75 years of Porsche sports cars.
“The show was produced by the Luft team,” Long explains, “but offered a different experience as part of a vision we have for an even larger gathering that will highlight all things Porsche, from the inception of the brand to current model lines.”
The idea was and is to celebrate the Porsche brand in all its forms.
“There is a wider cast of enthusiasts out there, and there are things we can do differently to open our doors to them,” Long says. “In my mind, the future of Air|Water is to be the largest, single-brand car show in the world and, leaving modesty aside, I believe we will be there within three years.”
In pursuit of that vision, last year kicked off with the first standalone Air|Water event in April. Held at the expansive Orange County Fairgrounds in Southern California, it was proof of concept.
With more cars on display and people coming through the turnstiles, the new Air|Water franchise seems here to stay as a complement to the annual Luftgekühlt show.
And, as a result of all this activity, the Luft brand has now become so well established that it has spawned a line of understated apparel, related artwork, accessories and even a $140 coffee table book, now in its second edition.
AFTERMARKET OPENINGS
What might all this mean for the performance aftermarket? Well, as niches go, the Porsche market offers a loyal following that, in many cases, can afford a Porsche as one of a fleet—large or small—that can be raced or modified with any number of accessories.
The days when Porsche owners kept their cars stock are long gone, and a Porsche is as ripe as a Deuce Ford or a ’55 Chevy for personalization. From aluminum fuel caps to carbon fiber body panels, aluminum pedal sets to custom instrument faces, there is a strong market out there.
We spoke to Greg Bartley, operations manager at Makellos Classics in San Diego. The Porsche restoration and modification specialist had three cars in the Meguiar’s display last year at Luft 10.
“Makellos Classics had the opportunity to showcase three of our latest build projects with Meguiar’s. It was a wonderful opportunity because Luftgekühlt is an amazing event, bringing builders and enthusiasts together to celebrate our beloved air-cooled Porsches. It presented us with a great opportunity to showcase our latest projects to a very knowledgeable audience,” he reports.
We also spoke to Jimmy Shine from Shine Speed Shop in Orange, California, who was just finishing a stunning 1953 Pre-A 356 coupe and says, “Early Porsches are similar to early Fords in that they offer a broad canvas for modification—everything from decklid louvers and custom interiors to one-off wheels.”
The AHRF’s Steele sums up Porsche-mania by noting, “Porsche has always been a boutique company. In the 1970s, if you wanted to build a 911 you could buy a body shell (body in white) to build a race car. Porsche was a small, nimble company that could move quickly to develop a car. Yes, they’re all Porsches but they can be individualized to suit a myriad of styles and needs—they’re the German equivalent of the ’32 Ford and, as a hot rodder, that’s why I find them exciting.”
