Air-cooled Porsches are cars that use air to keep their engines cool instead of water. This type of cooling was common in older Porsche models and is loved by many fans for its unique characteristics.
The Porsche Turbo S is a fast sports car that has a turbocharged engine, meaning it uses a special device to increase power. It's part of the 911 family, which is a well-known series of cars from Porsche.
The X50 Turbo is a special upgrade package for some Porsche 911 Turbo cars that makes them faster and better to drive. It includes parts that improve the engine and handling.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is a famous road in the mountains that people love to drive because it has beautiful views and lots of curves. It's a great place for enjoying nature while driving.
The driving experience is how it feels to drive a car, including how it handles on the road and how comfortable it is. It's about the enjoyment and connection you have with the vehicle.
The Porsche 356 Speedster is an old sports car that many people love for its fun driving experience. It's light and easy to handle, which makes it great for driving around.
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that many people love because it looks great and drives really well. It's been around for a long time, and even older models can still be fun to drive. When someone talks about it being a 'time capsule,' they mean that it can feel like you're driving a piece of history.
The BMW E36 M3 is a sporty car made by BMW, known for being fun to drive and great on the track. It was made in the 1990s and is popular among car lovers.
Rally culture is about a group of people who enjoy driving fast on different types of roads, often in events where they race against the clock. It's also about having fun and enjoying the scenery along the way.
The driving rally scene is a type of motorsport where drivers race on different types of roads, often in teams. It's a fun way to enjoy driving with others and test your skills.
Track work means driving cars on a racetrack where you can go fast and practice your driving skills safely. It's a fun way to enjoy cars and see how they perform.
A boxer engine is a special type of engine where the cylinders move in and out like a boxer's fists. This design helps make cars more stable and better balanced when driving.
The Ruclos Rally is a car event where people come together to enjoy their vehicles. It's a friendly gathering where everyone is welcome, no matter what kind of car they have.
Luft is a special car show that features older Porsche cars that are powered by air-cooled engines. It was started by a famous race car driver named Patrick Long and has been happening for over ten years.
The Porsche 917 is a famous race car that won many races in the 1970s. It's known for being very fast and is considered one of the best racing cars ever made.
The car community is made up of people who love cars and enjoy talking about them. They often meet up at events or shows to share their passion and make friends with others who like cars too.
Porsche Motorsport history is about the company's participation in car racing and the achievements they've made over the years. This history makes their cars more interesting to fans.
'Patina monsters' are old cars that look worn out but have a charm because of their age. People often like them for their history and unique look, even if they have rust or scratches.
Car
Porsche 912
The Porsche 912 is an older sports car that was made in the 1960s. It's known for being lighter and less powerful than the 911, but still very fun to drive and collect.
FOMO means feeling worried that you might miss out on something exciting. In cars, it can mean wanting a car because others have it or because it's popular.
Welcome to Renthousiast Radio, the podcast where Will and Derek navigate the winding
roads of Porsche Obsession, exploring the good and the bad of Porsche ownership.
Grab your favorite beverage, pull up a chair, and join us, Renthousiast Radio, because life's
too short not to talk about Porsches.
Welcome to Renthousiast Radio.
I'm Derek.
I'm Will.
Will and Derek coming out of Lufka Colt and a fantastic week driving down in North Carolina.
So I teased in last week's episode, I talked for a couple of minutes before we put up an
only but a good episode, and I just kind of shared the broad strokes of what we did down
in North Carolina.
So I'm really excited for you and I to go back and forth a little bit.
Talk about what we did on the rally through the mountains, and I have an apology.
I have to make live to you.
And then let's talk a little bit about at least the nation's greatest air-cooled Porsche
car show had in store for us and kind of what we thought.
But before we get into that, I did include some shorts, and I have some videos coming
on 11 After 9, my YouTube channel.
And also, I believe that the gentleman who had that Turbo S in my last video, he texted
me the other day saying that he's been getting on a outrageous number of people reaching
out to him because people have owned X50 Turbos in the past and it really kind of lit a fire.
So please go check out that video on 11 After 9.
And I actually spent this morning before our podcast here watching your video you dropped
last night, Will, about driving through the mountains of North Carolina behind the wheel
of your 993 in a run group, and narrating the whole time about why you love 993s and
why you think that they're the best Porsche, which my hat's off to you, dude.
The fact that you can talk and drive like that, I was super impressed.
Well, I appreciate it.
It was just kind of like verbalizing the notness monologue that I have going on in my head
as I'm trying to navigate tight curves and making sure that damp roads don't zap me because
it ended up getting a little bit damp at the higher elevations as I'm sure you'll recall.
So let me start off with my apology.
We joke around all the time, I'm in New England.
It's fall right now.
There is arguably no more beautiful place in the entire country to be than fall in New
England.
I'm in New Hampshire.
I'm near the White Mountains.
I have the ocean.
I have beauty.
I have nature.
And I have beautiful driving roads.
And I thought I had your roads licked.
You're like, ah, head to the mountains, rip with my friends, have a great time, Blue Ridge
Parkway, curvy, fantastic, fast roads.
I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I head down there.
I shared this last week and I got down there a day early.
I trailered my 72911 down there and got there in the rain and I'm like, you know what?
I'm going to go out and just drive a little bit in the rain.
I don't care.
I wanted to see some of these roads and I texted you like 20 minutes into it, Will.
And I was like, all right, you friggin' win.
The road I was on was possibly the most amazing road I've ever driven.
It was 10 minutes away from my hotel.
It went on for 19 miles through the mountains.
And I was like, we can't touch this in New Hampshire.
So I owe you a steak dinner, my friend.
Amen.
And actually, I think that road that you're speaking of is the one that I was driving
on as I was capturing footage and talking through the 993, but as well as the experience
of driving roads like that.
So I think that was coincidental, but if you're interested in seeing what Derek's talking
about, you know, go to my channel and look up the latest videos.
So yeah, man, I want to talk about today and you and I did pregame a little bit before
we jumped on and started recording.
Like we have kind of two segments of this podcast.
So segment one is going to be about the driving experience and I must say there's a man by
the name of Mike who organized a drive with about 15 cars out of Blowing Rock, North Carolina.
I want to thank him if he's listening.
Really, really fun event.
And so we spent a day and a half prior to driving to Lufka Colt in Durham, North Carolina.
You know, driving back roads as Derek has touched on and really enjoying our cars.
So that's segment one.
I want to talk through that and what that experience was like for those of you who have
not been lucky enough to do something like that.
And then the second segment will be our impressions of the show itself candidly and we can touch
on this, Derek.
I think you and I are aligned on this.
I found Lufka was like it was amazing in terms of how well they did picking the venue and
laying everything out.
It was killer.
But for me, I was more excited about the driving portion of my week.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I know you're not a car show person.
I'm a little bit more of a car show person than you.
But yeah, well, you know what?
Let's get to that because I certainly have some some opinions.
But so I got to ask you this question.
So here we have a group of like 25 cars.
I drive down there.
I meet all these people number one coming from New England.
And I know this is an old trope, but so completely blown away by just how kind everyone was in
the North Carolina driving crew.
I mean, these are people that have substantial collections.
They have three cars, five cars, 20 cars in their garage.
And I mean, vintages that go back to the early 50s, price tags associated with these cars
that are in the many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
You would have felt walking around talking to them that you were just at like a Friday
night football game and just chatting with random people that are just excited to be
there with this shared passion.
You run with a good crew, man.
Do you find that like all North Carolina drivers are kind of like that just really welcoming
and just really like, hey, hop in and keep pace?
You know, that's an interesting question.
Like any other community of people, there are subcultures that exist.
So I think Derek, it's kind of like anything else in life.
I mean, you've got people who are kind and fun and they set aside any kind of weird differences
in terms of what their backgrounds are, what they do for a living.
And then you do have kind of another subset of people who maybe aren't as welcoming.
And so I just, I think that's the way of the world.
I don't know, man, I've fallen into a community of people that I really connect with.
We drive together maybe three times a year.
We all know each other's pace.
We trust each other.
We have a good time.
It's no drama.
It's no, it's no kind of, you know, suit up show up who's got the coolest car kind of thing.
It's just like, let's enjoy, let's have, let's have laughs.
And I've touched on this in my content, even from early on when I started to, when I started
my channel, what I've found with Portia that has been such a pleasant surprise is the, is
the strength of the community and the positivity that you generally find, you know, I'm coming
out of the BMW brand and not to speak ill because BMWs are cool, but I just didn't find
that in that particular brand.
So to answer your question, man, just to sum it up, I think it's like, I think it's just
to summarize, excuse me, I think it's just, it's like any other community of people.
I mean, we just all happen to have these cars.
You know, what's really cool is that up here, especially with a car show crew, you know,
people will have these like really nice cars, whether it's a, you know, some Ferraris or
some really nice BMWs or especially Portia, and you start talking to them, there's no
miles on the cars, they, they'll drive in their car shows, they'll take them out for
ice cream and then they put them away.
And everyone at this rally, the difference between owners and drivers was very apparent
to me because here you had say a guy with a beautiful red 356 speedster and he drives
I was in his run group on the last day coming back.
He was driving that 356.
I can't imagine someone could drive it with such a controlled rapid pace around the mountains
and he had, he was having a blast, but it had patina and he drives it like all the time.
And it kind of reminded me, I was trying to think of like a good analogy of this as I
was driving home because I had a solid 16, 17 hours behind the wheel to get back to New
Hampshire.
And it just reminds me of like, if you ever run into like a scuba diver and they, they, they
have on their wetsuit and they pick up their tank and all their equipment and it's like
really high quality stuff, but it, but it's worn, it's used because they, they, they bought
the best, but they use it every day and it's like reliable and it performs and it's used
as intended as it was built, as it was designed and it's used every day.
And I really kind of felt as we were standing there in the morning before we went on our
run groups, like I'm looking around at these cars and there's little mods here and there.
There's, you know, everyone has like their little cosmetic changes, their performance
changes, but all of the cars were bedded in.
They were all used and it was really cool to see.
Yeah.
I think what you're really talking about is character, you know, I don't understand scuba
diving.
I have never been around that world, but I totally get what you're talking about.
And so then that's, that's where I get excited.
I mean, I don't want to jump ahead to the loose segment of the podcast, but I, I just
will say I, I think we all have the ability to, and I support the hell out of this to enjoy
this hobby, how we want to.
So I'm not judging anybody who loves to keep their original paint absolutely perfect and
show the car and they don't really like to drive it because they want to keep the miles
down because I, you know, I can appreciate why they do that.
It's a time capsule and it's very special and every mile you put on, you can erase.
But for me, I, I like a nice, well-used 9-11 that has been, you know, driven many a mile
behind a car throwing stone chips at, or stones at it.
And that's just how I appreciate the hobby.
And so I hear you, man, I just find that to be special and interesting more so than it.
And then a car show with these perfect examples, you know.
And you mentioned it earlier too.
It's, it's one part is about the roads, the driving roads.
And then the other part is about the people you're driving with and trusting them.
And if you are scooting around on some beautiful roads, knowing that they can handle their machine
and that they are respectful of laws and they're not going to do anything stupid.
That's going to get you in trouble.
And so you can have fun, but it's also like a responsible fun.
And that was the crew that we were with.
I mean, now granted, in my 53 year old car, I was in the back of the run group, right?
Trying to, trying to beat feet and keep up with you guys.
But it was, it was a lot of fun and we use the cars as intended, but we weren't stupid.
And, you know, I just got to give you a little bit of a compliment and I don't
want this to go to your head.
I was really surprised at how well you could drive candidly.
You know, I would consider you kind of my informal guest, at least on the front end
before you got to really know the guys and mash with them.
And so I'm looking in my rear view and I'm like, I hope this guy doesn't cross the yellow line.
I hope he doesn't spin.
I hope he doesn't try to keep up where he can't because we were in 993s.
But man, you know, you, you kept up to the most part.
I mean, you know, some of the raw power we left you behind.
But in terms of the, you know, the tight curves, I think either, either you're really good
with the car or you're just stupid and you don't understand, you can get zapped.
I'm just kidding.
But either way, I'm not going to let you know which one.
So, so listen, man, I, you know, as you were talking there, I want to talk a little bit
about how I landed on the driving scene coming out of the BMW world.
So I came from, I came from a, in terms of really using my cars or a car, a track prepped E36 M3.
I mean, I was doing HPDE events and that's where I felt like I was really able to exercise the cars.
But candidly, I didn't love how, you know, confined you would be when you were doing events like this.
So you got a full weekend commitment, you got some money tied up in it, you're standing
around the paddock waiting for your run group to get to go.
And I just concurrent with that time, I picked up my 993.
So I owned some BMWs plus my 993 and I fell into the rally culture.
And I kind of just set aside the track stuff because I really enjoyed at least, you know,
driving five tents on public roads, always respectful, always careful.
But I liked that, you know, you can stop at will, you know, the whole run group will pull over and
beautiful scenery, you stop, you get some photos, you kind of laugh, you shoot the shit,
you take a pee break because you're a middle-aged dude and that has to happen frequently.
But, you know, yeah, sorry, it's true.
And anybody out there who's like in their mid-40s and up know what I'm talking about.
But I just found it to be a much more social casual experience.
And so I set aside the track stuff. I just, I haven't even been back.
I sold my track, built BMW and moved into the driving rally scene and I haven't looked back.
And so I'm glad to hear that's really landed for you too, man.
I mean, I don't know if you've actually, I think you've done track work and you might
have a greater affinity for that than I do.
But at the end of the day, I've just found it to be a very pleasant way to enjoy the cars.
And I'll say this, man, this might sound a little cheesy.
I've had a few of like the most powerful experiences in my life on these drives.
And what I mean is like the machine is where you want it. You're working it.
You know, it's almost an art when you can really find a way to get that,
especially the air-cooled car, to do what you want to do.
The scenery is incredible. You know, you're driving. It's a fall day.
The leaves are changing. You're in a part of the country that just blows your mind.
I mean, you're at this super high elevation. You look off to your left and you got to
share view mountains as far as you can see.
And for me, I'm like, I'm going to get a little weird.
That's almost a spiritual experience. And, you know, I think as my life progresses and maybe
I'm not as able to drive as much, I'm going to look back on those moments and really have.
I'll be really glad I did it, you know.
Being in the back of the pack, I was able to get a beautiful view of this
long snaking train of 993s with a boxer spider in the front,
kind of going over dips and turns with this background of the sun coming up over the mountains
of the Blue Ridge Parkway and just mountains as far as the eye could see. And it was really,
really magical. And I took a mental picture of that for sure.
And it's something I'm going to remember for a long time.
Yeah. No, we don't. I have done track work in the past. I enjoy the track for what it is.
I think we've talked about this in past podcasts. Like, I just don't
have the personal want to spend thousands of dollars for a weekend
when I could save up a couple of those thousand dollar weekends and then buy another car.
So, you know, a track work is what it is and it is fun. But up here, like I alluded to earlier,
we have long sweeping roads. We don't have like these tight roads that hug the side of mountains
with, you know, with like 35 mile an hour and then you go down a 25 mile an hour up to 45
mile an hour that you can really like have a ton of fun while not doing anything,
you know, crazy stupid. And up here, it's like 45 to 65 long sweepers. My old car,
you know, it gets, when you get up to like 80 miles an hour, it starts to get a little jittery
if you start going over any ruts or frosty. So I like the lower speed work where it was
more technical and you could just really work on your clutch, your brake, your gas,
you know, shifting down, shifting up, shifting at the right time. It really is magical.
And once you get into that flow as you're alluding to, and I kind of saw you in your video last night
doing that, where you commented in the video at one point, you're like, ah, I missed a perfect
shift point there. And it was, I know exactly what you mean because it almost felt like you
skipped a beat. It was like, oh, I should have shifted there. And that stopped your dialogue
as you were talking. And I really appreciated that. So this is what I would say to the folks
who are listening to this around the country. So I've driven in New England, and it is beautiful
for what it is. I've driven out in California, I've done the canyons, which are amazing, a lot
of long sweepers. They're technical stuff for sure, but a different drive. Dude, I was blown away
by North Carolina. I actually do think it might be the best driving in the United States.
There were times when I was in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, where I was walking up down
Main Street, and I felt like I was in the perfect combination of Aspen and North Conway,
which is a place in New Hampshire, which is very like a Christmasy mountain town by ski resort.
I couldn't believe I was in the South. Now granted, I was at an elevation where it felt
like it was the North, but I could see myself retiring down there for the roads and for the
people. But anyways, my point is this. For the sake of putting a car on a trailer, or for the
sake of spending $7 to $1,200 and putting a car on a flatbed or an enclosed trailer,
and driving out and spending four or five days doing these roads, there are no bad roads.
Any squiggly line on Google Maps will get you all the way to fun. I would really encourage
people to do that, because I was so blown away, and I'm actually looking forward to the next
time I can get down and give you a hard time. Yeah, brother. Listen, you better come on back
down. I would say that this weekend, what I really loved about it is it had a chill vibe.
Everybody was cool. It was a smaller event, but it wasn't as tightly orchestrated as some that
I've been to, where it almost feels like pressured to be here, there, and everywhere at a certain
time. That was what I really enjoyed about it. What else was cool is, I'm not going to mention
this guy's last name, but there's a guy by the name of Chip that has an unbelievable
collection. I've never seen anything like it. It's up outside of Blowing Rock. What a kind man.
I mean, he had all of us in that car barn, fed us food, and then talked us through some of these
Hang on. Pause right there. Car barn. At the end of each night, on our agenda,
was, oh, end up at Chip's car barn, end up at Don's car barn. I'm like, oh, that's cool. We're
going to roll in, and it's going to be someone's garage with maybe a lift, and we're going to have
some beers, and maybe there'll be a grill going. Dirty floor. Hey, everywhere. Dirty floor. Yeah,
lawn chairs, right? Yeah, yeah. Guys, a car barn is a misnomer.
This was a car house. I mean, it was out of control. And so if you know, you know, I mean,
this man is so kind. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if a fair number of listeners out there
haven't gotten that tour, because it's my understanding that he will just, he'll take
anybody through there. So that was a cool aspect of this particular event. But what I wanted to do
is I want to touch on a couple of others. There are larger events that take place in Western North
Carolina. Derek, can you better come on back down? So we actually have an event that we put
together. It's fairly exclusive, excuse me, only because we're limited on space, given the size
of the hotel where we stay. It's a rally called the Topoco Classic. And so, you know, we'll save
you a seat if you want to come back down. Maybe this time you want to ship your, ship your car.
And then there's another way, a cool one in West Virginia, and it's a larger event,
but my understanding too is it's a little bit loose in terms of the organization. I mean,
they definitely put together a cool show, but it's called Ruclos Rally. And I have not yet
done it, but I'm going to certainly do it. And, you know, I've got some friends, maybe they could
get you on that invite list as well. And so those are two that come to mind that are really,
really fun events. And, you know, the culture at both, very accepting. None of this, you know,
who's got the most interesting, coolest car. And if you don't, you know, if you have a run
of the mill 993, you're not really that exciting. None of that stuff, you know. So these events
do exist out there to the listeners. And, you know, I'd recommend if any of this is intriguing
to you, definitely, you know, figure out a way to get to one of these events.
Well, I'm going to flirt with divorce and unemployment to take more time off next year
to come down to these because it was, I'm a convert. I'm officially a convert. I'm a big
solo drive guy, as everyone who listens knows. I love driving the New England roads by myself
and doing that meditation as you're as you're up here in New Hampshire. But it was a whole new
world to me. Well, and I'm very glad that I experienced it. And I want to give my most
sincere thanks to you and your buddies and also Mike and the folks that did this
organization and our fearless leader, Bob, who play on the routes, because when you have a local
that knows the roads and can link one road to the next, and you see traffic in the distance
on the larger roads, but you don't go near those, you're going along like a lake and you're,
you're dipping and diving. That was, that was a real pleasure. So,
so what do you say we move on to? You read my mind. So let's, let's go to that
portion of this show. What were you expecting going into this?
Exactly what was delivered. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So for those of you that don't know what it is,
you want to explain what what Luft is? I think that you're since you're the factoid man, maybe
you'll have a more structured explanation of what they can expect. I'm too much of a fly by the
seat of my pants. I'll be all over the place and people will be more confused than they were going
in. So why don't you tell us. Patrick Long, famous Porsche race car driver, very connected with the
Porsche factory, retired from racing and started this car show called Lyftical, which is an air
cooled Porsche show. And he started it, gosh, I want to say maybe like around 2012, something like
that. I could be wrong on the date, but it's been going on for more than 10 years. And it started
very small, I think at like Deus Ex or something. It was like maybe 15 cars. And it has grown over
the years because, you know, because of Patrick Long's connections with people and collectors,
he's able to bring in the most storied cars in Porsche's history, the best of the best race cars,
the best of the best manufacturers. But he doesn't just line them up in a parking lot,
like most car shows. He brings in Jeff Swart, who has also been a long time a Porsche, I would say,
partner in terms of from their advertising photography department. And he's also a racer in
his own mind or in his own mind, in all of our minds, because he's a great hill climber and a
great racer, who actually I got to meet and spend some time with Jeff Swart the other day. And
he was such a gentleman. And he was long story short, as he's an artist as well. So they take
all these cars and they position them around really cool backgrounds. They've been in the
Universal Studios back lot. And in this case, in Durham, they are at the Lucky Strike tobacco
factory. It's these old brick buildings and mills that were converted to shopping. And they just
took it over and they stuffed cars everywhere. You'd be on the second floor of a building and
you'd find, you know, a beautiful Porsche race car like in an office, like, how did they even get
this in here? You know, by the bathrooms, under the stairs. Oh, there's a 917, like literally
under stairs. And so they light them appropriately. They usually have a theme. And it's an elevated
car show. It's like an artistic, it's like an artistic Porsche installation. And that's what,
that's the tag wheel. Did I hit it? I think so. I mean, it was absolutely incredible as far as
car shows go. It is, and I've been a lot to a lot of these events like this one. And I mean,
this one is heads and shoulders above all others. Absolutely incredible what they do with the cars
just to echo what you said. Like it's kind of, you turn the corner around a building and see
some trick that they pulled. You're like, how did they, how did they even do that? So I'd love to
see the setup. Man, I got to say that, and this is just neither here nor there, but the weather
was freaking perfect. You could not have asked for a better day. And I got to say, if I was putting
that show on, I mean, I'd be wringing my hands all the way up to like maybe 48 hours before,
because in a situation like that, it could have changed the outcome dramatically. So gosh, we
were all so lucky. You know, one of my thousands of cars. Yeah, yeah. So one of my favorite
aspects of this though, man, was running into friends. And, you know, again, I just really
liked the social aspect of it. And so we, you know, you just kind of walk in and some guy,
you're like, holy smokes, I haven't seen him since that drive two years ago. So that was amazing. And
then this is not, please understand, this is not self aggrandizing. This was bizarre, but I'll
bet you I was kind of, I probably had 20 people approached me like, Hey, great content, man.
You know, all that, like they're trying to talk to me and it just, it throws me, man. I'm not,
I'm just some dorky guy with just happens to have a YouTube channel. And so that was,
that was kind of odd, Derek. I don't know if you've experienced that yet or not, but it's,
it's kind of interesting because you've got, you got people that approach you and I guess they spent
so much time watching your content, they sort of feel like they know you. And as the content
creator, you don't really know them. And so, so for me, it's kind of like, I had my girlfriend
with me. And after I would engage with somebody, I'd walk away. I was like, man, was I a jerk?
I didn't mean to be. It just really throws me when somebody comes and talks to me. So
anyway, again, not self aggrandizing, just disclosing what that experience was like for me. So if,
if we chatted to the viewers, if we chatted while we were there, I hope that, you know,
I hope that I left you with a good impression and I appreciate you saying hi.
I felt the same way. I was also very blessed that a number of people came up and like you said,
knew me really well. And I had to get their names. And we talked about their cars. And
I had some that that was for the show that those were the highlights for me,
meeting the folks that kind of know our journey, they wanted to share where they got into the hobby
and their cars. And I was, it was also confirmed, Ray, you're out there and you know who you are,
that we are the number one podcast for people that mow their lawns, especially John Deere tractors
on two acres of grass. So that was confirmed right off the bat. But yeah, it is, it is,
it is really nice because it just adds to the community and it shows that people like the
stupid stuff, most of it wrong that you and I talk about. So that was a real pleasure.
The show was what it was. And again, the best Porsche cars show that you can go to,
especially if you're an air cooled enthusiast, people drove from Montreal, from Toronto, from
the Northeast, from the West Coast drove their cars down my buddy Tom drove his 993 down from
New Hampshire, didn't trailer like me because I'm a wuss. So everyone commuted and actually
heading home. What was really fun is people, you know, group, these run groups were passing me,
like up in Virginia, up through Maryland and Pennsylvania. And, you know, they'd honk and
they'd wave. And I see these three cars, these three Porsches pull over and I'm like, Oh crap,
did someone have a problem? So here I am in my pickup truck, I pull over behind them.
And a guy gets out of his car and I stand on the step of my truck. I'm like, Hey,
I got a jack in the back of my truck. Does I'm going to have a flat? And he's like, No, no,
the guy in the front, he just hit 80,000 kilometers on his car and he wanted to pull over and take a
picture. It's like, Oh, it's like, Oh, I get it. No problem. That makes sense. Yeah, but
so for me, well, I almost suffered from beauty fatigue when it came to Lyfka Cole.
Like I, there were so many amazing cars, so many cars that were storied race history.
They were art. It was like going to see the Mona Lisa, going to see Starry Night.
You see it and you're like, Oh my God, that's great. And then you look at another painting
over here and you're like, Well, that's also beautiful. And that's beautiful. And then
you kind of don't appreciate all of them because there's so many beautiful paintings
in a row. Does that make sense? Yeah, dude, I mean, I don't want to throw shade at all because
again, the incredible experience for sure. When I'm getting ready to share, though,
I think it goes back to, you know, how do we each like to enjoy the hobby? I mean, I think
that I must be a Porsche poser because I, you know, I haven't tracked a lot. I mean,
this is honestly, I mean, I might get beaten up. Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. Sometimes I do, though.
I, you know, I don't really have this archival, if that's a word, knowledge of Porsche Motorsport
history. And so I see some of these cars. And for me, what comes to mind is, okay, that's a
beautiful car. I'm sure there's a lot of history there. And I've got buddies who are just like
drooling over their cars and they're chatting about, you know, this is the car that won that
race back in 69 or whatever. And I'm like, okay, that's a beautiful car. But I can't get in it
and drive it. And again, I just, I think for me, if I can't afford it, if I can't drive it,
I don't get super excited by it. So again, I don't want to, you know, I don't want to throw it any
shade because honestly, I mean, what they've done is out of control. Cool. The cars that caught my
attention the most, they're what I'll call patina monsters, man. Yes. So I, yes. Yes. So I, okay,
singers, cool, old school, you know, a million dollar Porsche race cars, definitely cool.
But I liked the, there was a 912 that like, honestly, it had rust on the rockers or right
in front of the rockers was on the fender. And the dude there. Yeah, dude. And I'm like, no,
that's cool. And, and, and, and, you know, the second piece here, I have a couple of ideas
in the works, man, this is really for me. And I talked to a couple of buddies.
What these car shows do for me is they just light my fire for wanting to buy
something that resembles something I saw there. And so Derek, I must say I'm a little on fire for
finding the next thing. And I have also told my audience that, man, I'm never going to,
like I'm happy with the 993 as far as air cooled goes,
not going to anything older. However, coming out of that show, Derek, I think, I think the hunt is
on for a G body, well used patina monster. I've already chatted with a contact in mind of the
community. I'm going to go check out a couple on Monday. But yeah, I don't know if FOMO is the
right answer, but I am the king of conflict in terms of what I say and then what I do and what
I claim. And then when I end up doing it, and so, you know, surprise, surprise. So,
you know, I, Meredith, my girlfriend is really like pushing hard. She wants me to get a G body
target. I'm not totally sure about that. But either way, the hunt is on and then true to form,
I'm going to have to make some room in the garage. And so I don't know, Derek, I may have to sell
the 997.2 Carrera S, the manual car, the beautiful guard's red car. So let's not get into all that,
but I guess the main point on all of this is if you go to one of these shows folks out there,
be very prepared to come home and light some of your money on fire because you're going to want
to buy something. Those patina monsters, you know what it is? It's romantic. They've been used and
you can see the use, you can see the miles put on them. And there was, all right, so my favorite
part of the show, and again, this is absolutely no shade. It was the most incredible Porsche show
I've ever been to. I love the parking garage. The parking garage was five levels of everyone
that had driven there, in their cool cars from 944s to 968s to 928s. And 912s, there was a guy
with a 912, his name was Dwayne from New York. He was parked across from me. He had a 912,
and I'm going to try to put a picture up when I edit this. It was six or seven different colors,
surface rust, Bondo, Bondo that had fallen off, but underneath it was mechanically perfect. Yeah,
mechanically perfect, electrically perfect. It drove like a dream, but it showed every single mile.
And so the parking garage was the place to be because you got to chat with everyone about their
cars. They were so passionate about it. And everyone was just, dude, this was the Disneyland
for Porsche adults. And this was really fantastic. So I really enjoyed that. I think overall,
Lyft was absolutely something I would probably go to again. But the driving rally down in North
Carolina is something I would definitely go do again. And that, for me, that first half of the
week was just, that's what really blew me away. Buddy, I already have another one scheduled.
It's kind of a guys weekend in November. So there's going to be nine of us doing what you and I did.
I'm pre-loofed. And so I'm excited about that. So Derek.
And what I'm going to be doing in November, I'm going to be shoveling snow will. So enjoy that
down in North Carolina, USOB. I will send you some pictures and some video. How about that?
All right, Derek, that was the experience. That's my story. I'm sticking to it. And I hope the
listeners out there, the viewers out there have enjoyed this particular show.
Yeah, maybe next week we'll delve into some G-body work. Who knows? We'll have to talk about that.
Why am I wired this way? It's always the hunt. It's always the next one.
You know, and I think I do think it's entertaining for people to watch. And I'm glad that I can
burn money for those people. Yeah, man. So I don't know, YOLO, life is short.
And so why not enjoy it, man? But this has been fun. And I look forward to doing another one next week.
Have a great week, dude. Later. All right. All right, buddy.
About this episode
Exploring the stunning driving roads of North Carolina, Will and Derek share their experiences from a recent rally and the Luftgekühlt 11 car show. They discuss the breathtaking scenery, the camaraderie among Porsche enthusiasts, and the thrill of driving air-cooled Porsches on winding mountain roads. The duo reflects on the unique charm of the rally culture, contrasting it with the more formal car show experience. They also touch on the allure of well-used cars with character, and the excitement of discovering new automotive events to attend.
We went to North Carolina for a few days of rallying, then rolled into Durham for Luftgekühlt 11—and it completely changed our perspectives.
Derek opens with a public apology to Will: the Blue Ridge and Blowing Rock backroads aren’t just good…they might be the best he’s ever driven. We unpack what makes rally culture so addictive (trust, pace, and driving), the difference between “owners” and “drivers,” and the moment a patina-rich 356 and a scruffy 912 stole the show from million-dollar icons.
Then we get honest about Luft 11 at the historic American Tobacco campus: artfully staged cars, jaw-dropping curation, and yes—“beauty fatigue.” Why the parking garage (daily-driven cars with scars and stories) was our favorite “exhibit,” and how the event lit a fire for the next hunt (hello, G-body).
If you’re into real driving, community over clout, and Porsches with character, this one’s for you.
Chapters
00:00 Cold open & why we’re buzzing
01:10 Derek’s public apology: Blue Ridge > New England?
03:20 The rally: trust, pace, & Mike/Bob’s routes
06:00 Owners vs drivers (and why patina rules)
10:20 Flow state on mountain roads (spiritual, not spooky)
14:45 Why NC roads hit different vs NE & CA
17:45 Car barns, kindness, and community
21:25 What is Luft—quick primer
23:55 Luft 11 impressions: art, curation, and perfect weather
27:40 Beauty fatigue is real (still the best Porsche show)
29:35 The cars that grabbed us: 912s, 356s, scars & stories
31:00 The hunt begins: G-body fever, Targa debate, garage math
33:30 What’s next & sign-off
Listen on the go: “Rennthusiast Radio Podcast” (Apple/Spotify).
Watch Will’s 993 mountain drive and Derek’s Turbo S/X50 video on ElevenAfterNine.
Subscribe for more honest Porsche talk, rally recaps, and ownership reality.
Keywords: Luft 11, Luftgekühlt, Porsche 993, Porsche 356, Porsche 912, G-body, Blue Ridge Parkway, Blowing Rock NC, air-cooled Porsche, rally driving, patina Porsche, Porsche community
