Rare Porsche tractor catches the eye

Rare Porsche tractor catches the eye 

Mention the brand Porsche and the first thing that springs to mind will likely be a sports car. But the German manufacturer also produced a range of innovative tractors from the early 1930s until 1963, a rare example of which was on display at the Newark Vintage Tractor and Heritage Show.  

“It was rescued from a hedge in Washington, when we bought it in 2019 – it wasn’t running and was really scrap, but we brought it back to life,” says Seamus O’Dwyer, who co-owns it with fellow enthusiast Donie Fitzgerald. The 1959 Porsche Master 408, powered by a 50hp diesel engine, is one of only 200 built - of which only four remain, with just one in the UK, to their knowledge.  

The Master is one of four models manufactured at in the former Zeppelin factory in Friedrichshafen between 1956 and 1963; the single-cylinder Junior, the two-cylinder Standard, three-cylinder Super and four-cylinder Master. “There are several varieties of each model – every one is different, which I couldn’t get my head round until I started collected them,” says Seamus.  

For example, his vehicle has two seats, in-line rather than side-by-side, while others had seats on each rear mudguard for passengers. “Women drove a lot of the tractors after the war, so they took the children with them, on seats with rails round them.” The Master also has three power-take-off shafts; front, middle and rear, to attach a range of implements like mowers and ploughs – making it ideal for varied work on smallholdings. “I think the rear seat on mine might be so the experienced operator drives the tractor and the less experienced one sits behind, keeping an eye on the implements, and learning on the job.” 

Although Porsche attempted to break into the UK market in 1959/60, the tractors were too expensive to sell, so they instead went to Canada and the US, where their advanced technology found favour. “They didn’t have the three-point linkage popular in the UK, but were air cooled, so had no problem starting in the winter, which was a big advantage in North America,” says Seamus.  

The vehicles were exported in flat-packs, with engineers travelling with them to build on-site. “They ceased production in 1963 and sold the rights to Renault, which was a competitor at the time.” 

Seamus and Donie are in the privileged position of owning all four of the Porsche models, some of which they use for tractor runs. “But this one is a show pony – we got it ready just for the Concours d’Elegance at the show and have a bit more to do to finish it off,” says Seamus, who also owns a Massey Ferguson 168 and a John Deere 310. 

Donie was the first to get involved with Porsche tractors, passing on the bug to Seamus at the Dorset Steam Fair several years ago. “My first one took five or six years to restore, and I needed an implement to go with it,” says Donie. He found a mid-mounted plough and a mower in France, and ended up buying the Porsche tractor which went with them – a fortunate purchase given that Porsche’s unusual variation in models meant the implements wouldn’t fit the other tractors! “But we like what we do and we get to meet some great people.” 

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