Although Cafe Racer Dreams has been founded and brought to life in Spain, we live and breathe California. Its always been a dream of ours to ride through Route 66, stop on random secluded beaches on the coast, and park our bike right on Malibu. And this year was that year. Three of us; Jaime Colsa (CEO), Oscar (Logistics) and Caro (Media) flew to Los Angeles, California for an incredible week of porsches, bikes, sun, beaches, curvy roads and great vibes at Luftgekühlt.
This year marked the 6th edition of the incredibly popular Luftgekühlt. This air-cooled event was set on May,11th 2019 at the infamous Universal Studios in Hollywood. The expectations were high! Tickets got sold out just a few days after being released online and we had heard they were being resold for over $450 (Original price: $42). This annual conclave which gathers over 6000 attendees and displays 350 Porsches, is the aftermath of the foresight and devotion of Le Mans champion Patrick Long , creative director Howie Idelson and photographer Jeff Zwart. The three have a love for Porsche cars in common, and the rest is history.
That brisk Saturday morning, we arrived on site at around 11am and were immediately in awe at the dimensions and organizations of the event. There was a queue with over 200 people whom were getting picked up by luxury mini buses with tinted glasses and escorted to the backlot of Universal. Our excitement got to us, seeing people of all ages wearing Porsche merchandise and talking 911 engines was a dream come true. Once we managed to pass through security and get into our respective bus, the chauffeur gave us a complimentary tour of the distinct areas of Universal Studios. We got to see where a few legendary movies like Apolo 13 were directed and filmed.
8 minutes later, we were at the entrance. Going in felt like being tele transported to Hill Valley from Robert Zemeckis movies. We kept pointing in all directions remembering scenes we had watched as kids. This time though, the stars are the rows of classic, custom, limited edition and outlaw Porsches.
As we walked past the Back to the Future sets, we passed through sets of emblematic TV shows, commercials and films. Each faux street was set on a distinct period of time which was clear from the buildings façades and the cars that were parked. The experience was surreal. It was our first time at Universal Studios, and we sure were loving it.
As Porsche aficionados, our eyes were on the cars. Thinking, analyzing and obsessing over the details: design, built, and history. An Electric Blue Porsche 993 GT2 parked infront of the ¨Hat supply¨ store featured on ¨Dirty Harry¨, was one of the rare cars featured on the event. Estimated price? Over $1 million. Other notable and significant Porsches included the 1952 Porsche-Glöckler 356 roadster aluminum body; Adam Carolla’s 1979 Porsche 935 (ex- Paul Newman, 1979 Le Mans class winner); the Gulf-liveried 1969 Porsche 917K; 1967 Porsche 911 R S/N118 99 001R “World Record Monza”; 1972 Porsche 917/10 Turbo; 1973 Porsche 917/30; 1969 Porsche 917/PA; and the 1984 Porsche 962 IMSA GTP.
There were so many dream air cooled cars at Luftgekühlt that it was hard to pick just one. We all agreed on one thing though, Emory Automotive outdid themselves with Rods latest creation; the custom 356 outlaw. We had seen photos of this car a few days prior on social media so we were ecstatic to see this one live. The car stole the show, with hundreds of people surrounding to get a glance as Rod posed for photos with fans and explained his custom built. We got a chance to say hi in the middle of the crowd, definitely a highlight.
Singer Vehicle Design also displayed numerous works of art throughout the event which had people drooling. Driven by Rob Dickinsons vision, these cars redefine the idea of custom Porsches. With the motto ¨everything is important¨, their air-cooled looked like ¨perfection¨ was definitely something attainable.
The event left us motivated and dreaming about our next Porsche built. Howie, Jeff and Patrick definitely outdid themselves with this one. We are wondering what they have in mind for Luftgekühlt 7! We’ll definitely be back.