A PORSCHE HAPPENING

A PORSCHE HAPPENING. 

In the Porsche vernacular, Luftgekühlt represents all the air-cooled cars in the manufacturer’s history, from the Pre-A 356 through the 993 model line, which ended in 1998.

The Luftgekühlt brand is the brainchild of two-time Le Mans class winner Patrick Long and noted Southern California creative director Howie Idelson. A true Porsche happening, Luftgekühlt is an experiential car culture event centered around a tightly curated list of historically significant or interesting cars, both race and street. There's no set formula for our events, but we're excited by cool venues, fun people, and creative expression, so you can bet those elements will always be in our recipe. We like coming up with wild ideas that celebrate the passion we have for all things air-cooled, and we love collaborating with like-minded people and brands. 

This Porsche Happening crossed the Atlantic and landed at Bicester Heritage, Oxfordshire, UK on wet and windy Sunday July 29, 2018...

...so off I went to Luft GB. 

I didn't take many snaps mind you, so more to follow here. And hopefully this event will make their next book. The first one's here, which I have on my shelf and highly recommend - beautifully art directed. You never know, my car might even feature in it, as it got pulled aside to be officially photographed! 

One of my all time favorites - the mighty 934 

(nice article here of a similar car from Stanceworks) 

Wet Paint - do not touch!

I couldn't resist anymore - it was time to have my car resprayed. So I booked it in with Tyrone (Riviera) who's a top painter and a really nice bloke (between you and I, he paints the UK Singers when they need some TLC, but nobody knows that, so Shhh!). He updated me with a few pictures during the few months he had the car - see below.

We left everything pretty much standard apart from a rear wiper delete and a slight face lift with the addition of the Aerokit Chin Spoilers (Supplied by Carnewal, who do the factory parts, not fiberglass imitations, which are a nightmare to paint) - not to be mistaken for the RS Chin Spoilers. I prefer these as they resemble the design of the Turbo S Chin Spoiler, albeit in two parts. I was inspired by that Yellow 993 spotted in a previous post. We flattened off the sills to match the bodywork, which typically have a rough textured finish from factory. Left off the rear Carrera badge - looks cleaner without. Replaced the rubbers / seals all round, and the lenses and indicators; freshening up the front end. And went for a smaller front number plate, which was scaled down to fit the exact size of the plinth, which looks great.

The wheels were fully reburfished by Chris at Exel, who does a splendid job and provides a hassle free collection / delivery service, including providing loan wheels! We took the opportunity to replace the front tyres, which had good tread but were showing signs of aging with some light cracking due to the rubber hardening. The car handles much better now - feels gripper, turns in better and stops / starts with more bite.

The new front and rear screens (with wiper delete, whilst retaining the heating elements and third brake light spoiler, fitted to '96 > '98 993s) were done by Paul at GlassTec, who's a Porsche Specialist with his very own blog about 'Automative Glazing Matters'! In fact, I got a stone chip in the new windscreen the day I picked up the car - Grrr - but thanks to Paul it had miraculously disappeared within 24hours! A good guy to know.

After the paint, I decided to invest in some Paint Protection, in the form of XPEL - an invisible urethane film with 'self healing' properties - I kid you not! So, off it went to Topaz in Wembley, the UK's most exclusive detailing and PPF specialist, for a Level 2 detail and Full Front and Sills wrap. Not cheap, but this way my nice new paint can remain, well, nice and new.

Oh, nearly forgot to mention that I also protected my nice new wheels with some protection too, in the form of Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour, which uses a unique chemical bond to become the functional surface of the wheel, making them dirt and brake dust repellent as well as being much easier to clean. A single application lasts up to one year! Nice and easy. 

The car looks brand new - perhaps even better than it did in 1996!?!

Next stop - Luft GB. Luftgekuhlt is coming to the UK!