This Porsche Type 597 ‘Jagdwagen’ was the 5th out of 22 prototype all-terrain vehicles built by the German carmaker for the nation’s military in the early 1950s. It is completely restored, in perfect condition and heading to auction in August with no price announcement.
The Type 597 was designed and made for Bundeswehr after it posted a state bid for light military vehicles. It is widely named the marque’s first off-roader in history, although Ferdinand Porsche earlier participated in designing Volkswagen’s Kübelwagen and Schwimmwagen models fitting that description.
In terms of features, the retro ride boasts torsion-beam suspension, impressive ground clearance and a Porsche 356 1.5-liter flat-four engine under the hood mated to a four-speed M/T and part-time AWD system. Despite all these innovations, the Type 597m along with the off-road offerings of other German brands such as Auto Union and Borgward, failed to convince the government of the country that it needed a larger production run. The defense ministry ended up picking the DKW Munga for its off-road purposes.
Porsche originally made 22 prototypes for the state bid, but later continued making them and selling to other countries and private customers. It is believed that 71 units was made in total. Having successfully taken their off-roader to hunting trips into the wilderness, customers gave it the nickname ‘Jagdwagen’, which literally means ‘hunting car’.
