The Porsche driver and two-time Le Mans winner wants you to come to his shows.
Patrick Long raced Porsches for Porsche AG for 20 years, winning his class at Le Mans two times. But even a racing hero has to do something after the races. So Long and his friend Howie Idelson, with help from Jeff Zwart and a huge cast of others, started Luftgekühlt.
You may have heard of it.Luftgekühlt, or just Luft as it's now known by its fans who desperately want to be considered insiders, is traditionally the hottest ticket in town wherever it goes. It's a gathering of the world's best air-cooled Porsches in interesting, fun locations. When it came to the Universal Studios back lots most recently, unless you were really good about getting onto the system and ordering your own tickets, you had to know somebody. But once you got in, scattered across movie sets you recognize from decades of Universal Pictures productions, were Porsche 908s, 910s, 962s, GT3s, and more nice-looking 911s than you'd see in a lifetime of looking, even if you lived in L.A., where Universal is located.Luft was a success, with its 10th edition at the Universal Studios back lots celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 911 Turbo. While California has been its traditional home, there have now been Luftgekühlts in Germany, Denmark, the U.K., and last week in Japan.'Sort of the meat between the bun is these international events,' said Long when we caught up with him at the private Los Angeles storage facility where he keeps a very nicely curated collection of his own Porsches. 'We've been to the U.K., we've been to Germany, we've been to Austria, we've been twice to Poland, Japan. And so, yeah, we've done a lot in Europe.'He's particularly proud of the expansion into Asia.'Breaking into Asia, that was a long time coming. The site visit started over a decade ago. And I wasn't going to do Japan until it was just right.'Just right wound up being over two kilometers of closed-down above-ground expressway in the middle of Ginza, the famous shopping district in Tokyo. 'Ginza is such a fashion-forward, such a vibrant part of town,' he said. 'Everybody is still asking, like, 'How did you close down an expressway in the middle of Tokyo with the skyline illuminated?' The event went into the night, and the skyline was illuminated on both sides. The visuals were very Tokyo Drift at night.”That was just the most recent. They do one numbered Luft show a year, and they do different formats on top of those. They've been to Petit Le Mans for Porsche Cars North America, and they attended the Chattanooga concours 'as kind of a pop-up.'While the numbered Luft shows in the U.S. are the big draws with the best cars, the Air/Water shows are an attraction in their own right. They're open to all Porsches, liquid- and air-cooled, as long as they're cool . The next one is April 25 at the OC Fair Event Center in Orange County, California. Last year there was one in Durham, North Carolina. 'Air/Water broadens the lens for attendees to include the full spectrum of Porsche cars ranging from vintage classics to the latest innovations from the world-famous manufacturer,' the marketing material says. 'The emphasis for Air/Water is to deliver an entertaining, accessible showcase for new fans and connoisseurs alike. The special event joins enthusiasts, collectors, and industry tastemakers for a vibrant, can't-miss experience punctuated by standout cars, exclusive brand experiences for visitors, and a celebration of Porsche culture unlike anything else in the world.'Long says the team emphasizes location when developing both Luftgekühlt and Air/Water shows.'It really starts with the venue. With Luft, we want venues that tell a visual story that has not only architectural diversity, but multiple shots per show. I don't want a venue that just creates the same aesthetic backdrop for every car that's kind of placed in a specific way.'For instance, there was one Luftgekühlt in a lumberyard in Southern California.'People said, 'Well, that's dumb. Why would you do a car show at a lumberyard?' And then we told the story of Gmünd and how Porsche was essentially founded in a wood mill, a sawmill. And now, you know, our inspired brands all use wood stages because we started using wood stages.'And now it's like a standard. Even Porsche has used wood stages on their activations at Rennsport and at Le Mans. And so, yeah, we just try to continue to shake up the regular steel deck that everybody else does at a show.'So if Orange County is the next Air/Water, where will the next Luftgekühlt be?'Let's just say this year we're targeting somewhere on the East Coast again,' Long said. 'I'll let that out right now. And I'm not completely there on every single aspect of it. We've got to make sure all our partners know before the community knows. But yeah, October 10 is our plan. I'm going to let it ride.'So if you want to go, have your teenage kid write a computer program for you to get onto the ticket site as soon as ticket sales open, so you can beat everyone else and actually go. Get me a ticket, too, will ya?
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