Postwar 597 Jagdwagen Brings 356 Power to the Battlefield
Rare 597 Jagdwagen shot by Roman Raetzke in February one of 71 built in 1957, uses modded 356 flat-four to power through the terrain.
Today, Porsche’s Cayenne is all the SUV anyone could need to traverse whatever terrain needs to be cross. Not to mention the luxury and performance the SUV offers to owners and their fellow passengers. Drop in a turbo, and Cayenne lives up to its name everywhere it goes.
Of course, this isn’t Porsche’s first rodeo off the Autobahn. Way back in the early 1950s, Stuttgart offered a more utilitarian machine to the German military, the 597 Jagdwagen. Recently, Autoevolution happened upon one of the rare rides on Instagram, as shot by Roman Raetzke back in February 2021 for Auto Bild Klassik.
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Back in 1953, the Bundeswehr sought a lightweight off-roader to go toe-to-toe with the WWII-winning Jeep. Porsche, Auto Union/DKW and Borgward/Goliath each dropped off their own proposals in order to secure the tons of Deutsche Marks the contract would offer to the winning proposal.
For Porsche, the 597 Jagdwagen (“Hunting Wagon” in English) was their champion. In line with similar builds from Volkswagen (the WWII-era Kubelwagen and its civilian successor, the Type 181), the 597 packed an air-cooled flat-four out back under its tough exterior. It was no ordinary boxer, though, but a modded version of the one used in the 356. Unlike Porsche’s sports car, however, the boxer moved both the front and rear wheels.
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The modded 356 boxer brought the 597 Jagdwagen up to a speed of 60 mph with 50 horses ready to charge into battle. It was light enough to handle shallow rivers and streams merely by floating across, and it could climb a 65-degree incline like it was nothing. It was impressive enough to the Bundeswehr, who gave Porsche the go-ahead to build 71 copies in 1957.
However, money got in the way of any more 597s. Thus, the final contract was given to Auto Union/DKW, better known today as Audi, itself part of the Volkswagen-Porsche family. The one shot by Ratzke is just one of 50 known to exist. Now, more people know about this wonder machine.
Photo: Porsche
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