1954 Porsche Type 597 Jagdwagen
- Engine
- 1.5L air-cooled flat-four, four-speed manual, derived from 356 with reliability-focused tuning
- Colour
- Olive green
The Porsche Type 597, built from 1954, was the Stuttgart firm's first attempt at an off-road vehicle, developed in response to a West German Army tender for a light utility truck. Drawing on 356 sports car mechanicals — a 1.5-litre air-cooled flat-four, four-speed gearbox, and torsion-bar suspension — it also featured selectable four-wheel drive and amphibious capability. Only 71 examples are thought to have been made in total. Chassis 0005 is the fifth prototype constructed, subsequently sold through a Koblenz distributor, and has since undergone a complete professional restoration in Germany.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$665,000
- 1954 → 1956-04-01Factory deliveryPorsche factorypartial documentation
Retained after construction, used for demonstration purposes to the German military and other foreign armed forces.
- 1956-04-01 →Private saleLöhr & Becker AGfull documentation
Porsche-Volkswagen dealer based in Koblenz; acquisition documented via a factory Kardex copy.
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownCurrent consignorpartial documentation
Used the vehicle lightly; oversaw or acquired it following a professional restoration carried out in Germany.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- —Restoration
A thorough, professionally executed restoration carried out in Germany, returning the vehicle to period-correct olive green military livery with a matching interior; canvas side curtains and a folding top were also fitted.
Are you the owner of this car?
This car's public record is built from its auction and competition history. Register your ownership and privately add your own records to make it a verified Legacy Metrics passport — provenance that backs your car's value at sale and gives your insurer evidence to price against. Roy reviews and verifies every registration personally.