Forgotten KDF Porsche.

So i'd Like to Talk about a forgotten Kraft durch Freude Porsche. Kraft durch Freude was something From the darkest Times of Germany so i dont really Want to Go into too much Detail about that but they also wanted to make otherwise expensive luxuries available for the average German. Cars for example Like the KDF-Wagen

KDF Wagen (VW Type 1

and another vehicle that was also created by Porsche.

Porsche 356

but it wasnt an affordable Sports car... it was a tractor:

restored junior

The first Porsche tractor designs were penned by Dr Ferdinand Porsche in the early 1930s alongside the early designs for the VW Beetle – the original plan was to develop a “Volks-Traktor” to be sold alongside the “Volks-Wagen”.

A Brief History of the Porsche Tractor

By 1934 there were three working tractor prototypes, all of which featured a unique (for the time) hydraulic coupling between engine and transmission. This would be a design requirement on all Porsche tractors built until production ended in 1963, because the engineers believed that farmers couldn’t be trusted to operate a clutch effectively.

It was clear from the outset that they would need at least four engine sizes, as different tractors have different jobs – some require less power power and some require far more. The difficulty was that the core design criteria was to develop engines that were very cheap to build and maintain – so having four unique engines was not an option.

Dr Porsche solved this issue by creating a new air-cooled diesel engine that was entirely modular. Each cylinder and cylinder head was detachable and individually replaceable – allowing engines made up of one, two, three, or four cylinders depending on the crankcase.

The onset of WWII stopped development work on the Porsche tractor, and after the war ended only companies that had been building tractors before the war were allowed to resume production. This meant that the only way to get the Porsche-Diesel into production was to license it, so the German production was licensed to Allgaier GmbH and the Austrian license was sold to Hofherr Schrantz.

In 1956 Mannesmann AG bought the license to build Porsche tractors and invested heavily into re-fitting the old Zeppelin factory just west of Friedrichshafen. Over the course of the production run over 125,000 Porsche tractors would be build and shipped all over the world – and thanks to their solid construction many thousands of them are still operational.

some nice Pictures From the silodrome Magazine

Of all the models that were produced, the most popular was the Porsche Junior 108. It was the smallest and most affordable of the Porsche tractor model range, and its single cylinder air-cooled diesel engine was both economical to run, and very hard to break.

Engine

The diesel engine has a capacity of 822cc and is capable of 15 hp at 2250 rpm, and there’s a power takeoff at the rear to allow farm machinery to be operated. The engine uses Bosch diesel injection, and it’s coupled to a 6-speed transmission – it would be almost half a century until road-going Porsches received that many cogs.

The 1961 Porsche Junior 108 is a distant cousin of the timeless Porsche 356, and just like its two-doored relative it has timeless styling, and air-cooled motor, and rear wheel drive. It looks somewhat similar to Allgaier, Hatz and Schlüter Tractors

Porsche Junior

Allgaier

Hatz

Schlüter

Although Lamborghini or even Mercedes Benz might be more famous for their tractors, I’d dare to suggest that the Porsche tractors are actually prettier, and they’re perfectly sized for active duty on small farms, orchards, and vineyards.

Lamborghini Trattori

Mercedes Benz MB-Trac & Unimog

Porsche also had some different tractors Later on:

Porsche Master

Here You can See the size comparison between a Porsche tractor and a Porsche SUV

Porsche Diesels

(another fun comparison would be between another Volkswagen owned company. M.A.N used to build Tractors as Well:

M.A.N agro Truck and tractor

)

Needless to say i want to take one to the Nürburgring or to an official Porsche Drivers Training:

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Bonus:

crazy custom Porsche. Might Just be a Show custom or a competative pulling tractor.

custom Show tractor. I actualy prefer them unmodified...

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Fun Fact: Before Cayenne and Macan Porsche also Made a proper offroader similar to a Volkswagen Kübelwagen but lesser Known than a VW or even Lamborghini Offroader:

Porsche 597 Jagdwagen

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Hope You enjoyed this Post. See You around. -Thunder 9501