Last Sunday, Porsche fans were treated to one of the greatest displays of air-cooled models of the iconic brand, from very early 356’s to 993’s and variants in between. For the second time in less than six months, Porsche factory racer Patrick Long, and his partner Howie Idelson, organized “Luftgekühlt” II (it’s the German word for air-cooled, pronounced “looft-guh-kewlt”) in Southern California. The first Luftgekühlt, held last September, drew a few dozen cars and fans. Sunday’s event, promoted through social media and word-of-mouth, drew more than 300 Porsches and their owners to the industrial office complex in West Los Angeles where Bandido Bros hosted the event.
The event set up was first class – some of the rarest Porsches were strategically positioned inside the Bandido office, along with race simulators, sitting areas and tables, and snacks to accommodate the capacity crowd. It was nice to see people showing up with young children, future Porsche fans, a reflection on the relaxed, family friendly atmosphere. Although the rarest of the breed were on display indoors, hundreds of 356’s, 911’s and other Porsches were on display in the seven outdoor parking lots surrounding the Bandido offices.
Patrick Was Everywhere
In addition to his duties as event organizer, Patrick Long made time to meet and greet fans, signing autographs and answering questions when he wasn’t directing traffic. Many other Porsche and racing luminaries were in attendance, including Danny Sullivan (Indy champ and Porsche endurance racer), Jeff Zwart (Pikes Peak record setter and champion), Patrick Dempsey (Porsche Racer and collector, Dempsey Motorsports, FIA WEC), Magnus Walker (Mr. Urban Outlaw!), Rod Emery (Emery Outlaws) and too many others to list. All were gracious in accommodating fans, signing autographs, talking shop, catching up with old friends, and admiring some of the amazing cars in attendance.
The rain clouds that threatened to dampen the event never materialized and the hundreds of Porsche fans in attendance were a tribute to the hard work by Long and the event staff in putting together a world-class event! Patrick wants to repeat the event in SoCal annually, and he is also trying to organize “Luftgekühlts” in other locations, no small feat given his busy race schedule. Thank you, Patrick, Howie and Bandido Bros!
30+ Pictures From Luftgekühlt II
Walking into the HQ of Bandido Bros, the first thing you noticed was the Holy Grail of 911’s, a 1970 ST, with its wild early 70’s paint scheme, staring right at you by the entrance. This car, owned by Southern California Porsche aficionado and collector Tom Shaughnessy, has an incredible race history, having been driven in anger by no less than Jurgen Barth in the ’72 Tour de France! The ST was very well presented, with its beautiful yellow and red stripes adding drama to the sensuous curves of the flared rear fenders. The interior is in race ready condition, and Tom does not hesitate to flog this beauty on the streets.
More than half-dozen other rare Porsches were spread throughout the Bandido offices, including an iconic RSR in Hawaiian Tropic livery which won the Sebring 12 hours in 1977 at the hands of George Dyer and Brad Frisselle.
How often do Porsche lovers get to see a ’64 904 Carrera GTS next to a 906 Carrera 6, two of Stuttgart’s iconic street-legal racecars? We can thank Don Murray and Jeff Zwart for bringing these beautiful machines to Luftgekühlt.
Ferdinand A. “Butzi” Porsche took the 904 from design concept to track ready in little more than 6 months – Still considered one of the most beautiful designs to come out of Porsche, this outstanding example in classic silver, which drew many admirers, is part of Don and Carol Murray’s Southern California collection of historic and beautiful Porsches.
Jeff is a seven time Pikes Peak class champion, having set a record on the hill in 2010 in a GT3 – Jeff still races the 906 at vintage events, so look for Tom’s ST and Jeff’s 906 at Rennsport Reunion V at the end of September!
The wild ones, a.k.a Porsche’s world dominator 935s, also graced the festivities. The famous Interscope Racing “00”, which raced in IMSA and competed in the 24 hours of Daytona piloted by Danny Ongais, was at hand.
Not to be outdone, no less than the Kremer Bros K3 935 that won Le Mans in 1979 at the hands of Klaus Ludwig and the Whittington Bros, beating more powerful prototypes, made it to the event.
The sound of its race-bred engine left little doubt as to its capabilities – and no, those are not flamethrowers hanging out the back (might as well be)!
Magnus Walker never disappoints – his color combinations and design elements set his 911’s apart. Although Magnus put together his beautiful ’65 a while back, he recently modified it some more with new colors and stripes.
How’s this for retro? Metallic green with psychedelic stripes on this 70’s 930 Turbo.
“Black Beauty” – Jack Olsen’s ’72 S modified into an RSR clone and one of the well-known SoCal R Gruppe style cars which were in attendance in full force. Jack tracks his car often at Willow Spring, and to see it at speed, check out Jack’s posts on YouTube.
The air-cooleds that started it all were well represented, with many 356’s, some in concourse condition, others unrestored and a variety of amazing Outlaws.
A Continental convertible, courtesy of the Petersen Museum.
This series A speedster sported gorgeous Rudge wheels.
About the author: Alex Baghdassarian is a longtime Porsche enthusiast and amateur photographer who resides in Southern California and loves to exercise his air-cooled mounts. Along with his wife Joyce, they attend various PCA, Early911s and 356 Registry events. Alex is a construction law Partner in the Los Angeles office of Peckar & Abramson, P.C. and can be reached at abaghdassarian@pecklaw.com.
View Comments (8)
The Kremer 935 that won Le Mans outright in 1979 didn't just show up at the show -- it was DRIVEN there. It's (mostly) street legal!
What a great event. I can't wait for next year's show.
And thanks for the mention!
Jack, that's a very big distinction. Thanks for pointing it out and thanks for reading!
No mention that this was a "by invitation only" event. Strange.
Maybe it's only semantics, but we understood it to be that people actually petitioned via social media to have their cars selected vs. getting an exclusive invite.
Did someone sneak in a 959?
I wasn't an organizer, but let me shine some light on how they did things. Nothing was 'by invitation,' really. They ran out of parking spaces last year, and wanted there to be good variety in the main lots this year. So they asked people to tag a post about their car so they could put a list of cars together. Even so, the placement of the cars was done VERY casually. Even the indoor cars ran a wide gamut from rare to just pretty cool. And a lot of it had to do with when people showed up. The Le Mans winning 935 got there late, so it was outside. The 959 was on the list, but the owner showed up after all the spots were full, so it was in one of the outside lots. But that was the cool thing about it. There wasn't a weird 'I'm cooler than you' hierarchy to the show. You'd find some incredible cars mixed in with ones that were simply well-loved by their owners. There were collectors, restorers, hot rodders, artist-types, SEMA types and a few cars with awesomely aged and oxidized paint. The more cars you walked past, the more you'd discover.
Spot on, Jack.
The fact that some individuals were asked to bring very special cars for enthusiasts to enjoy did not this an "invitation only" event. Had that been the case, the organizers would not have taken to social media to expose the event -- which was non-exclusive and very, very, informal. PL thanked everyone who approached him for attending, and he's hoping to repeat the experience for Porsche fans in locations other than Southern California.
Here's Patrick Long to explain it.
https://vimeo.com/121274820