Luftgekühlt 11 at the Historic American Tobacco Campus in Durham

Following up on last year’s 10th anniversary of the Luftgekühlt air-cooled Porsche show series, the event is preparing for its first-ever East Coast appearance at the historic American Tobacco Campus in Durham, North Carolina. Among the announcements are the involvement of legendary racer and TV host Tommy Kendall, plus a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Type 993 Porsche 911 in the U.S., with a display of special models.

Tommy Kendall will be available to meet visitors and talk about his personal experiences behind the wheel of some of the most legendary Porsche racing machines. He will also guide guests through several key activations at Luft 11 and highlight several hero cars at the show, as well as his personal favorites.

Tommy’s extensive racing experience encompasses IMSA, Trans-Am, NASCAR and more. Notably, it includes finishing the 2000 24 Hours of Le Mans in 14th, driving a Konrad Motorsport 993 Porsche 911 GT2. He even won a Porsche Owners Club four-hour endurance race in a Porsche 944, giving him a unique perspective on Porsche models from each end of the spectrum, event organizers stated in a press release.

993 Anniversary – AJR Restorations

Luft 11 will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the Type 993 model in North America for the 1995 model year. The celebration will include several key examples of the finest road and race machines that helped build the iconic status of the last air-cooled Porsche 911. Two significant 993 racing cars will be displayed by AJR Restorations: the 1995 Sebring GTS2 class winner #26 and the special #23 RSR tribute.

Number 26 represents the beginning of the Alex Job Racing story, built in Alex’s two-car garage in 1990, it won the first of 10 Sebring wins for the team. The car was based on a Fabcar tube chassis after his original 911 race car was destroyed in a 1990 12 Hours of Sebring crash. Salvaging what parts he could and building them into the new chassis, IMSA rules allowed a sloped nose, widebody fenders and whale tail. The interior was also modified with a bulkhead behind the driver sectioning off the 3.2-liter engine and 930 Turbo four-speed transmission.

The car competed throughout 1991 with some success and was upgraded with a 934 rear wing in 1992 before it was converted to the 935 Moby Dick body panels in 1993, when its best result was second in class at Daytona. In 1994, IMSA rule changes allowed an engine displacement increase to 3.6 liters for tube frame cars, while the unibody Type 964 models were 3.8L.

Major success evaded the team until 1995, when IMSA changed the GTU class to GTS2, but it required the body to resemble a road car. And with the new Type 993 arriving that year, AJR was the first to reconfigure its Porsche to the new model, noted the release. AJR also committed to a major 3.6L engine development program, which proved to be as competitive as the 3.8L version. The 1995 IMSA season would prove to be AJR’s strongest to date, notably winning its class in both the 12 Hours of Sebring and New Orleans races with a driver lineup that included Bill Auberlen.

The #26 AJR Porsche 911 would compete throughout the 1996 season and end its career at the 1997 Daytona 24. The car later changed hands, but the team kept track of it and was able to get it back into the shop.

“It was in rough shape, but we did a ground-up restoration, went to Emilia in 2022 and won Best Restored Race Car, which was a huge honor for Alex,” said Ken Davison, shop manager, special projects at AJR Restorations.

Also appearing at Luft 11 will be car #23, which was built as a tribute to the 1997 993 Porsche 911 RSR built by AJR for the 1998-99 season. The team ran two cars, with #23 winning both Daytona and Sebring in 1999. Both cars were restored almost 10 years ago for private collectors, and their rarity and value mean they don’t often appear in public.

So, AJR Restorations decided to build its own tribute, known as the Ultimate AJR RSR. Not intended to be a clone or show piece, it’s a functional tribute to what the original cars represented to the company’s history. As such, #23 has participated in Classic Watkins and Classic Daytona, allowing people to experience one of the most successful 993 racers in North America.

993 Anniversary – Leh & McGrath Keen

Also in attendance at Luft 11 will be a victorious 993 Supercup racing car, which was driven to championship victory by Le Mans legend Emmanuel Collard. After finishing third in 1995, the Frenchman dominated the 1996 season, winning five rounds of the nine-round series to claim the title in the car that will be on display.

Painted in a distinctive livery inspired by Collard’s spell as a Benetton Formula 1 test driver, the Supercup is now owned by Leh and McGrath Keen and will round out the special 993 racing display.

Additionally, Luft 11 will showcase a number of other special 993 road cars, which have been registered for display by their owners and will help tell the story of the model’s evolution. Several of the most desirable examples will be on the American Tobacco Campus, including the aforementioned racing GTS2, RSR and Supercup. Road examples will include the Carrera 2, Carrera 2S, Targa and Turbo, with possibly a few other surprises to come, stated event officials.

1948 Vip Lounge Presented by the Ingram Experience

Luft 11 will see the introduction of the 1948 Lounge presented by The Ingram Experience. The premium hospitality area will be centrally located on the American Tobacco Campus for Luftgekuhlt Premier ticket holders and event marketing partners. The lounge will be hosted by Tommy Kendall, who will conduct interviews with key guests from the Porsche community on Oct. 4.