Photo: http://www.heritage-auto.com/
The man behind the German sports car manufacturer was a character of many interests and talents. In the 1930s, when Ferdinand Porsche was making the final touches to the iconic Beetle, the automotive engineer was also developing an agricultural workhorse.
At the 1933 Berlin Motor Show, Adolf Hitler commissioned Porsche to develop the "people's car" and a simple tractor design, vehicles that were to accelerate the development of post-WWI Germany. Everyone knows that the VW Beetle has become one of the best-selling cars ever, with 21,5 million built to date, but few petrolheads know about the tractor marketed under the Porsche moniker.
Without going into further fine details, some 125,000 Porsche-Diesel tractors have been produced in the 1950s and 1960s. Four basic models were offered, boasting one to four-cylinder air-cooled engines running on diesel. Doesn't that make you laugh when you think about how Porsche enthusiasts reacted when it was announced that the Cayenne would get an Audi-sourced V6 turbo diesel? Moreover, the Porsche-Diesel tractors were built in a factory that served as the assembly plant of Zeppelin airships.
Now take a look at the fine example in the gallery below. Built in 1959, this Porsche Junior T108 is advertised for 25,000 euros ($33,835 or £19,785) at a dealership from Eastern Europe and is powered by a one-cylinder 822 cc oil burner with 14 horsepower on tap. This tractor is cooled by a belt-driven, ducted fan system driven from the crankshaft generator, a similar concept to what the Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle and the Porsche 356 employed. Meticulously restored and fully functional, this wonderful example of the "Volks-Tractor" is a testament to Ferdinand Porsche’s quality engineering.
Without going into further fine details, some 125,000 Porsche-Diesel tractors have been produced in the 1950s and 1960s. Four basic models were offered, boasting one to four-cylinder air-cooled engines running on diesel. Doesn't that make you laugh when you think about how Porsche enthusiasts reacted when it was announced that the Cayenne would get an Audi-sourced V6 turbo diesel? Moreover, the Porsche-Diesel tractors were built in a factory that served as the assembly plant of Zeppelin airships.
Now take a look at the fine example in the gallery below. Built in 1959, this Porsche Junior T108 is advertised for 25,000 euros ($33,835 or £19,785) at a dealership from Eastern Europe and is powered by a one-cylinder 822 cc oil burner with 14 horsepower on tap. This tractor is cooled by a belt-driven, ducted fan system driven from the crankshaft generator, a similar concept to what the Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle and the Porsche 356 employed. Meticulously restored and fully functional, this wonderful example of the "Volks-Tractor" is a testament to Ferdinand Porsche’s quality engineering.
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