What happens when one of the most successful family-friendly car events decides to create the show of the decade?
You get Luftgekühlt 6 at Universal Studios Hollywood.
To clarify, yes, I am talking about the amusement park that is owned and operated by the movie giant, Universal Studios.
However, Luftgekühlt 6 wasn’t in the actual amusement park, rather the backlot, which is Hollywood talk for the backstage and set side of movie production. But more on that soon.
Gone are the times when someone mentions a Porsche show or local PCA gathering and my mind flashes to a mental picture of geriatrics in spotless cars with little to no character.
This doesn’t mean that sort of show is nonexistent and that the stereotype has vanished into the wind along with the elderly, it’s simply just a sign of changing times.
I for one am extremely grateful to have witnessed the shift over the past few years, and believe me when I tell you that it wouldn’t be the same or have happened so quickly without shows like Luftgekühlt.
I’m not just blowing hot air around for the sake of it; if you’ve attended a Luftgekühlt event in the past you’ll know exactly what I’m referring to. If you haven’t, sit still and keep scrolling.
The idea of a strictly air-cooled Porsche show isn’t a new idea, but when it’s mixed with breathtaking locations, curated cars and good food and drink, you end up with an event that the whole family can enjoy.
When I say that it’s an event you can bring your family to, I don’t mean that co-founder (and race driver) Patrick Long is standing on the corner handing out lollipops and colouring book (although the colouring book isn’t a terrible idea), I mean it’s an event that showcases cars that even make my inner child lose his mind.
Numerous times throughout the show I found myself absolutely starstruck by cars that I had either looked up to when I was younger, or simple things like the variety of wings, wild colour palettes, and just the sheer variety of models on show from Porsche’s air-cooled era.
Being a family affair is just the icing on the cake; the real class and beauty of Luftgekühlt is the fact that it gets better each and every year.
No, that’s not the real New York City, even though it was quite convincing. Earlier, I mentioned that Luftgekühlt 6 was hosted in the backlot of Universal Studios, and that meant you could round one corner and be in The Big Apple, or take a right turn and find yourself in the middle of Hill Valley (the Back to the Future town set), or maybe take a left and find yourself in the Wild West.
This provided the Luftgekühlt crew with freedom to offer a transformative adventure as you walked through the show.
In all honesty, the entire show was a picturesque paradise no matter the time of day.
While the morning began gloomy, the sun soon broke through with its soft yet playful Californian bite until a soft breeze ushered in a light monkey’s wedding that lasted all of five minutes. It was like being in a movie.
We all have a friend that’s the life of the party, or the person who speaks their mind and isn’t afraid to show their true colours. To me, Josh Robots is a well-rounded version of all those things.
Each Luftgekühlt event, Robots pushes the boundaries to get a laugh in a car scene that he thinks is a little too serious.
Some of you might remember seeing his car at Luftgekühlt 4 where it featured a roof rack with diapers, beer, and a sign that simply stated ‘Baby Not Bored.’
He turned up to Luftgekühlt 5 with a stack of parking tickets that he had rummaged up and a parking boot on his wheel – all of this on top of a five-hour road trip down to the show.
This year, he decided to fill his Porsche 911 with inflatable pool toys – after a 16-hour road trip from Seattle. Why, you may ask? Well, why not?
Just in case I haven’t already flogged the proverbial dead horse when it comes to the variety of cars, Luftgekühlt 6 had a full display of safari-spec and rally-ready Porsches on one side of town.
Across the tracks, you could find all the glitz and glamour that comes with Singer 911s and the unadulterated, hopped-up and tuned RUFs.
Try telling me that there’s not something for everyone when it comes to Luftgekühlt…
If you’re a purist, fear not, Luftgekühlt has you covered.
When I asked some people prior to all the event tickets being sold if they had theirs in time, a few said that it was just going to be the same cars, while others mentioned that Luftgekühlt peaked back in San Pedro for the fourth rendition of the show due to the size, location, and cars.
Those people were going for the wrong reasons.
I may not have a family to bring to Luftgekühlt, however, many of my close friends always show up to the event, which results in a day full of laughter, hard work, and memories mixed in with the aroma of old leather and leaky motors.
A day spent in good company, surrounded by some of the most historically-rich cars of all time, and within multiple blockbuster movie sets – it’s a ripe combination for a show for the record books.
Luftgekühlt 7, what could top this?
But hey, that’s just my take on the car show of the decade. But I wasn’t the only Speedhunter in attendance, so stay tuned for more stories and spotlights in the coming days…
Keiron Berndt
Instagram: keiron_berndt