Air | Water: Luftgekült’s Second Act

Last weekend marked the 9th Luftgekült show, and this time around it was held back on my home turf – the San Francisco Bay Area – for the first time since its inception in 2014.

Trevor covered day one, and if you haven’t had a chance to check that out, I’d definitely recommend having a look and bringing yourself up to speed with Saturday’s curation. On Sunday, Mare Island transformed into Luft’s brand new second act: Air | Water.

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For the first time, Luftgekült’s founders Patrick Long and Jeff Zwart extended the event out to a two-day affair – air-cooled only on Saturday, and the new combination air-cooled plus water-cooled on Sunday to bring a whole new spectrum of Porsches into the Luft fold.

I feel like it’s been a long time coming, considering no one else has done anything like this. And it ultimately creates a diverse gathering that highlights significant cars from Porsche’s entire model line-up, not just the 911.

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From a personal standpoint, I wasn’t sure what Air | Water was going to be like, but my expectations were high since the two main people in charge have earned their reputations for their strong curation skills.

On one hand, I felt that the charm of Luftgekült and what made it special to begin with was the exclusivity towards celebrating the old and historical cars that come from Porsche and its deep roots in aviation, which is where air-cooled engines kind of originated. But on the other hand, we all know that Porsche’s historical significance doesn’t end with the transition to water-cooled cars; it just picks up where it left off and that’s pretty cool in itself too.

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Celebrating the more modern side of the German automaker’s rich history is smart actually, because most people often forget that there are other sub segments in the Porsche community that are heavily overlooked, such as their SUV market, transaxle cars, big family wagons and even crossovers.

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With that in mind, I’m curious to see what more can be done from here. I thought the Universal Studios show back in 2019 would be the Luftgekült to end all Luftgekülts, but the event as a series always has some sort of surprise element that is introduced with each and every episode, and Luft 9 certainly threw in a new plot twist.

Which begs the question, where do things go from here? We’ll have to see, but something tells me Luftgekült’s 10th show celebration cannot be missed.

Naveed Yousufzai
Instagram: eatwithnaveed
Email: naveed@speedhunters.com

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1

Great photos! I am not sure what vehicles were displayed, but I'm hoping for a third installment that focuses on the "other" Porsches. I know there are a lot of great Cayenne builds out there. I also don't see any 918s or Taycans here.

2

I agree with you that there are interesting builds of newer models too, however...no. The name of the event explains it all: Luftgekühlt in German means air-cooled. It refers to the older Porsche models that until the nineties were all air cooled. It wouldn't fit that much the event to host also newer models, except very exceptional builds like the Singer DLS, the Hoonipigasus, an official 911 RSR or stuff like that.
For the other newer models there are other platforms/events already, so to be honest even if Luftgekühlt remains focused on older models, it is fine for me.

3

For day 1 I totally agree with you. However, as stated in the article, day two was open to later model water cooled cars.

Also, I am not sure that Taycans use any water/glycol for cooling. My understanding is that most EV's use something like ATF to cool the motors. Someone please correct me if I am mistaken.

If my understanding is correct that would make them oil cooled just like the early Porsches, and thus permitted at an "air cooled" event. :)

4
PrematuredGravy

Agreed- there’s some incredible Caymans out there too.

5

Yeah, I've not seen a modded Taycan yet. That would be interesting.

6
PrematuredGravy

Could only imagine what seeing Ken Block’s 911 in the flesh must’ve been like..

7

Naveed

This show is amazing. That dark green with the silver wheels and wing is gorgeous. This show is incredible. Got to go soon.

8

Awesome! Thanks for covering this event. Any photos of the transaxle Porsches that were there? Would love to see some 924/944 stuff.

9

I'm really hoping Regular Car Reviews can make it to Luft.
"My Momo Prototipo is best Prototipo."
"My rooftop tent 996 is most unique 996."
"My artisanal ignition key is best ignition key."

10

At this point, buy and renovate a picturesque ghost town, perfect and one-way all the roads, and these organizers should open a driver resort. No tracks - all the roads are tracks. Have nearly every building have endless ways to park in/on/around and all have some sort of seating with food service. Every "room" is just a garage with a loft and much glass.

Do one for every biome and culture, fill with events and marque/model/type/p2w/historic era-only weeks. Everyone must be a respectful driver while there, bring a camera of any kind, own their own car (zero rentals) for over 1 year to even reserve a "room".

That's where this crew needs to go from here.

11

until someone buys or develop the land beside, and make it 'high class' residential which mainly lives by 'Quality people who have high conscious of saving the earth by using EV only cars, make complaint about your place being too noisy and not environmental friendly enough

12

You missed the key words:

Ghost

Town

They're far from everyone, typically.

13
Kosimar Leone

Watch out for the needles in the grass on your way to the lovely event. San Francisco is a dump lol.

14

Forget SF, worry about driving in Vallejo.

16

And this is why I love Porsche it's a must for every petrolhead to own one or at least experience one

17

I love Luftgekült, and I think this was a great coverage of the event! Well done capturing these masterpieces without people in the shots and in challenging lighting conditions.
HOWEVER, what happened to colours? I am really asking myself, why is the color filter so extreme? All photos are basically washed out completely, it is very unappealing to me personally. I know that it comes down to personal preferences in the end, but I really wish there was a variant of every picture with the original colours. I hope I don't sound too harsh because, as I said, all the rest is top notch and light control is top level.

18
Nield Fahrvergnügen

Someone knows what's the color of the last one picture classic 911 <73? Mintgreen?!
Liebe Grüsse aus Frankreich

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