Porsche Tractor - KGH367A - 1963

This is a late model Junior single cylinder tractor with 3 speed and reverse gearbox with high and low ratio box.

Used for logging up the lane and a few shows. It is a real character.

Porsche Tractor History

Dr Ferdinand Porsche first produced a prototype tractor in 1915 when working for Austro-Daimler but it was in 1937 that Porsche designed the type 110 nicknamed the “Volkspflug” (peoples plough), a two cylinder inclined air cooled 12hp engine with a hydraulic clutch. In the late 1940’s the small Porsche design company produced five tractor designs but did not have the resources to build the tractors and the 356 sports car and so in 1949 Allgaier was licensed to build the tractors. The first tractor, the AP 17, was built in the bombed out Dornier aircraft factory. The tractor sold well and in the first year of full production, 1950, over 5000 were produced and sold.

By 1954 the range of tractors was complete with the AP 17, AP 22, AP 133, AP144 and Allgaier produced 15000 tractors in 1955. Despite this success with the tractors Allgaier was a small company, under resourced and not particularly interested in giving up its traditional business (machine tools) to expand the way Porsche wanted.

Porsche had done design projects for Mannesmann, a very large industrial company, and approached them to take on the license. Mannesmann purchased the old Dornier factory on Lake Constance and started a new company named Porsche Diesel. Porsche designed new production systems as they had done for Volkswagen and in 1959 the new company produced 85000 tractors and was exporting to 38 countries. Production came to an end in 1964.

The real interest is in the detail. In 1937 Porsche’s notebook listed the design specification for a farm tractor: It must have a low price...It must have low maintenance costs... It must be versatile and have universal applications... It must be usable on difficult terrain... It must be sturdy, powerful and foolproof. Consequently all the engines, one to four cylinders, use the same piston barrel and head. The horse power of each tractor had a corresponding “plough rating” with each cylinder rated at one ploughshare. Engines were air cooled to avoid water pumps, belts and corrosion and all the larger tractors were connected to the transmission via an hydraulic coupling to avoid shocks and damage.

The History of our tractor written by Geof Gillett the previous owner

Porsche 109 Junior Tractor 1963

Single cylinder air cooled diesel 875 cc with hand & foot throttle, diff lock, high and low ratio gearbox & power take offs, lights.

This Tractor was originally purchased in 1963 by the London School of Economics to look after the playing fields at Malden, Surrey.

After many years it was rescued from a builder’s yard in a sorry state by Geof Gillet who restored it (see Vaporising magazine Spring 1990) and used it for giving rides at shows and ploughing matches over fifteen years. When he was to old to carry on I was told about it by Porsche Club on condition I paid the asking price and did not haggle! The Tractor and plough came to us in perfect running order complete with spares, workshop manual, books on ploughing, badges and pictures.

Porsche being a design and consultancy company, as well as manufacturing cars, designed the tractor for a Swiss tractor manufacturer, Alliger, who then went bankrupt. Porsche took the design back and continued production themselves eventually selling the business to Renault in the mid 60s. A complete range of tractors were offered all built with a common head, piston and barrel. Two, three and four cylinder models increasing in size as well as specialist versions for vineyards and coffee plantations were manufactured.

There are many attachments available including an extended steering wheel shaft which enables the driver to walk alongside, grass cutters to fit between the wheels and hydraulics. We have a Krone butterfly single furrow reversible plough which has been used on the Tractor.

Parts are available from Porsche Club Great Britain, Tractor Register.