Chassis No. 150

While many expect an open-topped, mid-century air-cooled Porsche to be an object of beauty and grace, those at Porsche in the 1950s and 1960s had a practical streak, one that was not uncommon across Western Europe during the era. Looking to play a larger part than that of a sports car manufacturer in West Germany's Wirtschaftswunder Economic Miracle, Ferdinand and Ferry Porsche teamed with Allgaier in 1949, just one year after building Porsche 356 No. 1, to design and build the two-cylinder Allgaier Porsche 17 tractor. In 1956 Porsche-Diesel Motorenbau GmbH formed, and just two years later, the new company was the second most popular tractor manufacturer in West Germany, offering four different tractor lines from the single-cylinder Junior, two-cylinder Standard, three-cylinder Super, and four-cylinder Master.

The most versatile of these must be the two-cylinder Standard T 217 model. Designed as a relatively inexpensive towing and carrying tractor, it utilized an uprated 1,374 cc diesel engine producing 18 horsepower coupled with a transmission from Getrag. Furthermore, it offered two hydraulically controlled workspaces between the axles and at the rear, and it could also be equipped with a mower and front loader as it was well suited as an additional maintenance tractor or for those farmers with smaller plots.

According to the affixed data plate, this T 217 was built in 1960 as chassis number 150, likely one of the first of its type constructed. In 1993 this Standard was located in Hechthausen, Germany. According to its TÜV Nord (Hamburg) vehicle inspection sheet and sales paperwork it became available for purchase in 2001 and was brought to the United States. It immediately underwent a comprehensive restoration in Dania, Florida and when placed on display at the 2003 Porsche Parade it took home a PCNA Historic Display Award. Most recently, this eminently collectible two-cylinder Standard has seen use in local Christmas parades and other neighborly events. As useful as the smaller Porsche tractors may have been, and still can be, they are now enjoyed as a fantastic piece of Porsche history, sure to illicit smiles at a concours event or during the Rennsport Reunion tractor races from anyone within its line of sight.

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