Luftgekühlt 10
Universal Studios Backlot

Luftgekühlt 10 unfolded on Saturday, October 5, 2024, across the Universal Studios backlot—city blocks and alleyways turned into a rolling set for air-cooled Porsche history. I worked the staged streets like scenes: aged brick, painted storefronts, fire escapes, and a curation that used sightlines for reveals and color for contrast—with the 50th anniversary of the 911 Turbo in the air, long-hoods, RSRs, and wide-arched 930s shared frames that felt purpose-built for the camera. It was Hollywood-scale storytelling with air-cooled heartbeat—an industrial lot transformed into a living archive for a single, very Porsche day.

I walked the backlot like a route map—New York Street to Courthouse Square—letting the curation turn corners into reveals. Long-hoods and RSRs queued under fire escapes; 930 Turbos marked the 50-year milestone with whale tails catching studio light. Period liveries played against aged brick and painted storefronts; Speedsters and 356s tucked into alleys where signage and sightlines did half the storytelling. I kept working close, then wide—badges, louvered decks, Fuchs, and center-locks—before stepping back to read how each car sat in the “city.” It felt like a one-day set built for Porsche: history staged, but the authenticity unmistakable.

Luftgekühlt began in 2014 with Patrick Long and Howie Idelson curating air-cooled Porsches like gallery pieces in character-rich spaces. Ten editions later, the premise holds—story first, staging as a tool, community at the center—now scaled to venues like the Universal backlot. The 2024 chapter added a timely layer: 50 years of the 911 Turbo, threaded through streets built for cinema and cars built for speed. That blend—design, motorsport, and place—explains Luft’s pull. It’s less a static show than a narrative you can walk, where Porsche’s air-cooled era keeps finding new ways to speak in the present.