This is the Porsche 597 Jagdawagen (hunting car) and it’s set to fetch between £170 000 and £200 000 (R3,2-million and R3,8-million) at auction at the Goodwood Revival on September 9.
Porsche was commissioned by the Germany army to design a land-based army vehicle and the 597 Jagdawagen, with its 2 060 mm wheelbase, was the result.
The Jagdawagen makes use of the rear-mounted air-cooled 1,6-litre four-cylinder engine from the 356, which is good for 37 kW. With an overall mass of 990 kg and a five-speed manual transmission it was able to achieve a top speed of 100 km/h.
The body was manufactured in Stuttgart until it was eventually outsourced to Karmann coachbuilders. The vehicle had the ability to climb gradients up to 65%, while the monocoque body was also fairly buoyant, making it semi-amphibious.
Over its three-year production run, just 71 models were built, with 49 made available to the public. This particular example was purchased from a Japanese collector in 2012 and, despite being in a perfect running condition, the current owner feels it is too valuable to use for its intended purpose on his country estate.
