Pete Olson - High Desert Region President
Yes… it’s true, they do exist, and here is the “Rest of the Story”!
Everything begins with an Idea…
Last November I was in Germany driving on the winding back country roads, and came into this small village. Now the early German family farming villages are comprised of a house & barn side by side along the main road. So slowing as I entered the village, there it was, a local farmer and his red Porsche Junior Diesel Tractor!
I carefully pulled my Porsche to the side of the road to stop & visit with the farmer. Fortunately, his English was very good (my German not at all). We had a good conversation & he told me about his Porsche tractor, which was a single cylinder diesel. He was getting ready to put it in the barn for the night & asked if I wanted to hear it run. Yes… I did, & boy did it make a clattering & interesting noise.
Now the hook was set… I really “needed” a Porsche tractor. How to find one, since they are relatively rare in the US. Ahh, place a “Wanted to Buy” ad on line in the Porsche Panorama.
Now here’s where the story gets very interesting! I had only 2 responses, one from Saratoga, CA & one from Overland Park, KS. I called each and asked them to send photos & details, which they did, and they “both” had a Porsche Cayenne Diesel as a tow vehicle. Then, in talking with them each had been selected by National PCA to be able to purchase (and each purchased) one of the 60th Anniversary GTS Club Coupes (There were only 60 built). What are the odds of this… they are absolutely staggering!
The 60th Anniversary GTS Club Coupe owned by each of the Diesel Tractor Owners
I selected the tractor in Kansas, made the deal & had it trucked on an enclosed carrier to Redmond.
Now, a bit about Porsche Junior Diesel tractors… Porsche manufactured tractors between 1952 & 1963 in Friedrichshafen, Germany at a converted Zeppelin factory on the shores of Lake Konstanz (Germany/Switzerland border).
Porsche built 4 models, 1 cylinder, 2 cylinders, 3 cylinders & 4 cylinders. (the single cylinder Junior Diesel is the most collectible)
And, then a bit about my Porsche Junior Diesel tractor. It’s an air cooled single cylinder (like the one I saw in Germany). 822 cc with 14 horsepower. Top speed of 12 mph. Sold new for the equivalent of 1700 $US. It spent its working life in France, and was imported to the US by an enthusiastic tractor restorer in Clear Lake, SD about 9 years ago. Turns out that his shop is only 16 miles from the farm where I was born & raised.
There is a Porsche Diesel Tractor Registry (approx. 300 in the US), and like one of the current registry members said… “these are one of the most useless and fun things you can own”. And, I certainly agree!
Pete