Luftgekühlt Atlanta

Eight thousand Porsche fans descended on Atlanta for Luftgekühlt 12, turning Town at Trilith into a sprawling celebration of air-cooled Porsche culture.

Founded by Patrick Long and Howie Idelson in a Los Angeles car park back in 2014, Luftgekühlt has grown into something far beyond a car show. Every edition finds a new location, new cars and new stories, with around 300 carefully curated Porsches brought together without barriers or velvet ropes.

This year's event celebrated 50 years of the Porsche 935, with three yellow examples raced by the Whittington brothers joined by the legendary 1979 Le Mans-winning 935 K3. It was also a chance to explore Porsche's remarkable history at the Targa Florio, 70 years after its first victory in the Sicilian road race.

Among the highlights were a 1959 718 RSK, 1960-winning RS 60, 1964 Targa-winning 904 and a 1971 908/3. Elsewhere, a Gulf-liveried 917K that appeared in Steve McQueen's Le Mans shared the stage with a beautifully restored 1957 356 A Outlaw that had spent decades beneath the rubble of a North Carolina general store.

And that's really what Luftgekühlt is about. Not just rare Porsches, but the people, places, racing memories and slightly unlikely stories attached to them. Air-cooled Porsche culture, without the glass cases.

Photos © Porsche