1958 Porsche 597 Jagdwagen SUV

When the German Army was allowed to be re-established, ten years after the end of WWII, the government solicited all of the manufacturers for a proposal for a military, light utility (Jeep type) vehicle. Auto Union and Borgward entered proposals. The Type 597 was Porsche's proposal. It featured many pioneering engineering features such as shift on the fly four wheel drive, five forward gears and it was truly amphibious. Unfortunately, all of these things came at a cost and the German government chose to go with the very basic and cheap alternative proposed by DKW, the Munga.

After being turned down by the Germans, Porsche marketed this vehicle to the various NATO countries without success. As a last resort, they badged it as the Jagdwagen (Hunting Car) and tried to market to outdoorsmen and sporting people. Again, the cost of the vehicle was too high and the market too small to bring success. As a result, a total of 71 Type 597's were made, all in prototype stage with no two exactly alike. Just 49 were produced for the civilian market.

These vehicles were built in Porsche's Werk 1 department, and were assembled right beside the company's racing machines.

This particular example is a late-production Jagdwagen and is believed to be the most original of the estimated 15 Type 597s that still exist. Its original owner was Wendell Fletcher of Pasadena, California, who received the vehicle in conjunction with his position as Porsche's North American distributor for industrial engines. Porsche intended this Jagdwagen to be Wendell Fletcheer's sales model. Fletcher, however, never did develop any business with the Jagdwagen, but he did built his own four-wheel drive vehicle called a 'Flair,' which adopted Type 597 drivetrain and Corvair power.

Mr. Fletcher retained the Jagdwagen for a very long time, finally selling in 1987 at the age of 92 to Mr. Prescott Kelley. Jerry Seinfeld purchased the Type 597 in 2010. Currently, it has covered less than 24,000 km from new and retains its original vinyl seat covers, fabric top, and side curtains.

Power is from a 1582cc overhead valve Type 616/6 flat 4-cylinder engine fitted with a single Solex carburetor. It produces 50 horsepower which is sent to all four-wheels via a five-speed manual transaxle. Located at each of those wheels are hydraulic drum brakes.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2016