Photography by Vijay Sankar Anil; press release info from Luftgekühlt
Luftgekühlt 12 brought together the global community with its signature air-cooled Porsche heritage celebration in the Atlanta area
Despite Weather Challenges, Luft 12 Hosted Fans from 23 countries and 45 of 50 US
States continuing to bring legends and first timers together to celebrate Porsche,
Heritage, Design and Community Together at Trilith. Luftgekühlt 12 debuted at Trillith near Atlanta, Georgia, a cultural hub of the south, on Saturday, October 10th welcoming 8,000 attendees and presenting more than 300 air-cooled Porsches. In its twelfth annual gathering the team once again brought together a wide spectrum of the Porsche community, from longtime collectors to first-time attendees experiencing the event for the first time.
With the dynamic location just down the road from the Porsche Cars North America headquarters, Luft 12 presented a diverse mix of programming providing for strong participation across all areas of the venue. Despite a state of emergency with alerts of flashing flooding and forceful winds, the organizers navigated the severe weather by adjusting the start time to produce the event under clear skies. Luftgekühlt 12 continued to build on its position as a leading destination for lifestyle events based around cars as the art.
The twelfth major Luftgekühlt event drew a packed crowd from around the world with 23
countries and 45 states in attendance. Founder Patrick Long remarked that, “Luft has always
been about celebrating culture, style and the brilliance and attraction of Porsche’s legacy. It’s a community, but one that welcomes new audiences to one of the most recognizable brands in the world, Porsche! Atlanta was an ideal destination to bring in the global community and celebrate the diversity of this community we love.” Long went on to say that “the safety of our guests, partners, and staff is always paramount. Adjusting the event within just twenty four hours turned out to be our greatest production pivot and enabled the best solution for safe event conditions.”
With calm weather and even some sunshine, Luft 12 delivered a full day of curated automotive
displays, historic exhibitions, film screenings and community engagement. The setting at Trilith, a cultural and creative hub known for its film and television production, provided a distinctive backdrop for Porsche’s racing, road-car and cultural legacy.
Georgia’s rich motorsport history took center stage through a collection of Porsche 935 race
cars, marking 50 years since the model’s debut in 1976. The exhibition traced the evolution of
the legendary racecar. Brought together for the first time since the period, three yellow 935s
owned and raced by Don and Bill Whittington served as a striking centerpiece. The display
connected Porsche’s competition history with Georgia’s own Road Atlanta racing heritage,
illustrating how innovations developed on the track continue to influence the marque’s road cars.
Luft 12 also celebrated 120 years of the Targa Florio with four historic Porsche race cars that
helped define the marque’s legacy in the famed Sicilian endurance race. The collection included the 1959 718 RSK, which led much of the 1959 race and set its fastest lap before a suspension failure on the final lap; the RS 60, which won overall in 1960; the 904 Carrera GTS, victorious in 1964; and the 1971 908/3, developed specifically for the Targa Florio and Nürburgring. The exhibition also explored the Targa Florio’s influence on the Porsche 911 Targa, whose distinctive open-roof design helped establish a new category of sports car. With world class race and road examples together, the display illustrated Porsche’s enduring relationship with one of motorsport’s most demanding and celebrated events.
“Every event is an evolution on an evolution,” says Luftgekühlt’s Creative Director, Jeff Zwart.
“We want to find new stories to tell.” Inside Trilith Live, a special display connected Porsche’s racing legacy with its place in film history. Presented by the Brumos Collection, a Gulf-liveried 1970 Porsche 917K offered a direct link to Steve McQueen’s 1971 film Le Mans. Previously owned by Jo Siffert and leased to McQueen for the production, the car brought together Porsche motorsport, cinema and the event’s distinctive setting with a unique opportunity for attendees to enjoy the car and film together.
Luftgekühlt’s approach to automotive storytelling extends beyond the cars themselves. Each
edition is built around a carefully curated selection of vehicles, with owners invited to apply to
display their Porsches by submitting the car’s history, description and photographs for review by the Luft team. A wide diversity of cars are showcased from original preserved examples, daily drivers, racecars, and custom one-off builds. The result is an experience that encourages discovery, conversation and close engagement with the automobiles and the people behind them.
Hosted by Hall of Fame racing driver and broadcaster Tommy Kendall, Luft 12 unfolded across
the venue through curated displays, three primary feature exhibitions and the first public
activation of Luft Cinema. Known as “TK,” Kendall brought his perspective as a four-time
Trans-Am Series winner, two-time Le Mans competitor and youngest IMSA champion in history, guiding attendees through the cars and the stories that shaped Porsche culture and motorsport. Luft Cinema extended the event’s storytelling into film, presenting the first public screening of Mobil 1’s latest feature-length film following Creative Director Jeff Zwart’s experience racing an air-cooled 911 in the East African Safari Rally. Special screenings from Type 7 and Hagerty further explored Porsche’s cultural and motorsport heritage.
More than 16 partner brands contributed to the on-site activations, enhancing the event
experience with unique displays, sales and giveaways. The partners took the engagement a
step further through their unique activations that included everything from cars, parts, history, art, and more. In addition, The Ingram Experience returned as the presenting partner to The 1948 Partner Lounge and offered an elevated space for both VIPs and partners to mingle. Luft 12’s extensive list of partners showcased the strength of the air-cooled community with contributions from: Tag Heuer, Porsche Classic, Mobil 1, Dunlop, Singer, Meguiar’s, Gunther Werks + GW9, Revs Institute, Graham Rahal Performance, Hagerty, Type 7, GHAS WTER, and Intercity Lines.
With its Atlanta Southern debut, Luftgekühlt 12 brought together Porsche’s international racing achievements, Georgia’s motorsport heritage and the marque’s broader cultural influence in an experience designed for enthusiasts and newcomers alike. From historic race cars and rare road-going models to film and community, the gathering celebrated the stories that continue to connect generations of Porsche fans.