Just like Jeep, Land Rover, Volkswagen and some other brands, Porsche developed an army vehicle, namely the 597 Jagdawagen (hunting car).
Only 71 were built between 1955 and 1958, of which 49 were produced for the civilian market. This is one of those that have never seen any battlefield action and is expected to fetch between £170 000 and £200 000 (R3,2-million and R3,8-million) at auction at the Goodwood Revival on 9 September.
Putting out a piddly 37 kW and with a top speed of 100km/h, the Jagdwagen is propelled by the same rear-mounted, air-cooled, four-cylinder engine as the 356 sports car, and while earlier versions had a 1.5-liter mill, this one has 1.6-liter unit. The wheelbase is only 2 060mm, so the military Porsche could climb gradients as steep as 65 percent, and since the monocoque body lacks doors, it became semi-amphibious.
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.