Hunting Car : Meet Porsche 597 Jagdwagen, An Offroader That Can Drive On Land And Water

Meet Porsche 597 Jagdwagen, a light military vehicle designed to fill the role as Jeep, Volkswagen’s Kubelwagen and Land Rover.

Jagdwagen, whose name roughly translates to ‘hunting car’, was developed as a prototype for the German Army.

Porsche’s Jagdwagen off-road vehicle could withstand almost any type of terrain – both on land and water.

But the Jagdwagen never reached mass production because of costs and Porsche’s inability to produce the capacity needed.

Instead, the cheaper DKW Munga was preferred by the German Army for its lower cost and Auto Union’s ability to meet the Army’s demand.

Just 71 Porsche 597’s were made between 1955 and 1958, 49 of which were built for the civilian market.

Meet the Porsche 597 Jagdwagen, a light military vehicle, designed for the German Army after World War II to fill the same general role as the original Jeep, Volkswagen’s Kubelwagen and Land Rover.

Porsche’s Jagdwagen, whose name roughly translates to ‘hunting car’, was originally developed as a prototype in the early 1950s in response to a request from the German Army.

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The first versions of the Jagdwagen lacked doors, meaning passengers have to climb in and out over the high sills. This body design makes the Jagdwagen effectively amphibious, but later versions came with doors and a reshaped bonnet and front wings.

With its switchable all-wheel drive and trough-like monocoque bodyshell, Porsche’s Jagdwagen off-road vehicle for the military could withstand almost any type of terrain – both on land and water.

The rear-engined vehicle was propelled by the Porsche 356 sports car’s air-cooled flat-four engine, first as a 1.5-litre engine and later by a 1.6-litre unit.

The revised version’s maximum output of around 37 kW (50 horsepower) allows the 990 kilogram vehicle to reach a top speed of around 100km/h (62mph).

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But the Jagdwagen never reached mass production because of production costs as well as Porsche’s inability to produce the capacity required to meet the Army’s needs in the proposed time scale.

Instead, the cheaper DKW Munga by Auto Union was preferred by the German Army for its relative simplicity, lower cost and Auto Union’s ability to meet the Army’s demand.

Only 71 Porsche 597 ‘Hunting Cars’ were manufactured between 1955 and 1958, 49 of which were built for the civilian market.

There were still hopes within the Porsche company in late 50s to produce an updated vehicle that could be available in five different body-styles. However, the project was eventually cancelled, and the new vehicle never saw the light of day.

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