Luftgekühlt is heading south for its next major event: Luft 12. Scheduled for Saturday, October 10 near Atlanta, Georgia, it will once again celebrate air-cooled Porsches in one of the country’s most active automotive markets. The move follows a strong reception for Luft 11 and marks another step in Luftgekühlt’s continued expansion across the United States. While the event series has grown considerably since its beginnings in Southern California, its formula remains largely unchanged: distinctive Porsche cars, carefully selected venues, and an emphasis on creating an experience that reaches beyond the boundaries of a traditional car show.
Atlanta also brings Luftgekühlt closer to Porsche’s American home. Porsche Cars North America and the Porsche Experience Center are both based in the city, giving Luft 12 a fitting backdrop and strengthening the event’s connection to the marque at the center of the Luftgekühlt story. The region is already familiar territory for the Luftgekühlt team. Previous events have been held at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in nearby Braselton, one of North America’s best-known road-racing circuits and home to the annual 10-hour Petit Le Mans endurance race. This year’s Petit Le Mans will take place the weekend before Luft 12, creating two consecutive weekends of Porsche and motorsport activity in the Atlanta area.
1 on 1 with Patrick Long, event co-founder
Recently during Monterey Car Week, Stuttcars interviewed Patrick at Weathertech Raceway about both his vintage racing exploits and the upcoming Luft:
Stuttcars: Looking towards Luftgekühlt 12 this year in Atlanta, what are you excited about?
Patrick Long: Well, we like to lean into themes. There’s the anniversary of 75 years of Porsche Motorsports, plus 50 years of the Porsche 935. We’re tying Luft into Road Atlanta for obvious reasons: the history and stories behind Road Atlanta, including planes landing on the back straight, etc.
But the location is also amazing. Trilith Studios and Fayetteville is just 20 minutes south of the Atlanta airport. It’s an entire town built in the farm country. 27 top-grade sound stages for movies, an entire retail, residential, and event center, and all done by the family who founded Chick-fil-A. So the design and architecture of the location is the most impressive residential architecture I’ve ever seen. And it’s not overly dramatic, decadent, or fancy. It’s classy and diverse. It will make an amazing backdrop.
Our show locations are a big part of the experience. When I tell people that we’re producing an art show, it’s like the art is the cars, and the venue is the gallery. When people are immersed in the venue, the Porsche enthusiasm goes nuts. We estimate participation from 48 of 50 states and 22 countries. People meet online, and then they fly to Luft annually to be together. Pretty amazing.
Stuttcars: That’s a magical thing that you created.
Patrick Long: Yes. We’re very lucky.
Stuttcars: And it all started at a car meet-up at a clothing boutique in Venice CA, right?
Patrick Long: Exactly. Just a cars and coffee with a few of my friends.
(Thanks to IBP Media Inc. for arranging interview)
Luft and IMSA’s Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta
That timing could also open the door for some notable additions to the Luft 12 lineup. With teams, drivers, collectors, and historic race cars already in the region for Petit Le Mans, the event could attract motorsport personalities and machinery not previously seen at a Luftgekühlt gathering.
As with earlier editions, Luft 12 will combine cars with art, design, culture, and community—elements central to the event’s identity. Rather than simply assembling significant Porsches in one location, Luftgekühlt has built its reputation around placing those cars in unusual architectural and cultural settings, turning each gathering into an experience shaped as much by its surroundings as by the vehicles themselves.
Atlanta offers plenty of possibilities. Beyond its automotive connections, the city has a growing art and film community, a broad range of architectural settings, and one of the world’s busiest international airports. Its accessibility should make Luft 12 relatively easy to reach for visitors traveling from across the United States, as well as enthusiasts coming from Europe and Asia.
The city also has an interesting connection to Porsche racing history. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola was prominently associated with Porsche race cars during the marque’s successful IMSA era, including the unmistakable Coca-Cola-liveried Porsche 935 and 962. That history, combined with the region’s established motorsport culture, gives Luftgekühlt another layer of material to draw from as it develops the Atlanta event.
“Atlanta felt like a natural next move for us,” said Patrick Long, founder of Luftgekühlt and Air|Water. “Being so close to Porsche’s U.S. home adds another layer to the experience, and we’re excited to bring the community together there this fall. As the brand continues to expand into new regions, moments like this reflect a broader intention to connect with audiences in meaningful and culturally specific ways.”
Luft 12 arrives during a period of continued growth for Luftgekühlt. Following its Tokyo debut and the expansion of its U.S. calendar, the organization has increasingly taken its approach to Porsche culture beyond its Southern California roots. Additional announcements are expected as the event schedule continues to develop.
Long has also broadened that approach through Air|Water, creating events that encompass a wider range of Porsche models and generations while maintaining the emphasis on design, storytelling, and community that helped establish Luftgekühlt. Together, the two concepts reflect an effort to present Porsche culture in ways that appeal not only to collectors and longtime enthusiasts, but also to younger audiences and those drawn to automotive design, photography, fashion, architecture, and motorsport.
Recent Luftgekühlt events have attracted substantial interest from both the automotive and creative communities, helping transform what began as an enthusiast gathering into an internationally recognized event series. That growth has come without abandoning the carefully curated approach that distinguished the earliest events, where the venue, cars, and people were treated as parts of a larger story rather than separate attractions.
Luft 12 represents the next stage of that evolution. Atlanta gives the event deep Porsche connections, an established motorsport audience, and a cultural landscape that can give the gathering an identity of its own.
The exact venue and ticketing information have not yet been announced. Luftgekühlt says it will release additional details as the October 10 event approaches. More information and updates are available through the Luftgekühlt website.
Above contents © 2026 Luftgekühlt, reviewed and edited by Rex McAfee , @rexmcafee 🏁
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