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Want to add a rare Porsche to your collection for a fraction of the price of a new sports car? This piece of automotive history could be for you.
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Though most people associate Porsche with sports cars, the name was also lent to a series of work-focussed tractors in the 1950s and 1960s – one of which is up for online auction.
Listed with Collecting Cars, the Porsche-Diesel Standard 218 is the third-generation of the Standard series, whose production spanned 1957 to 1963. Most examples, like this one, are painted in signature Carmine Red, a colour Porsche still uses today in its sports car range.
According to the listing, the tractor was comprehensively restored in 2016. It also bears a Grade 1 evaluation rating from Classic Data, who estimates a replacement value of €40,000 (AU$61,687). The tractor is currently located in Germany and, at the time of writing, is sitting at €8100 (AU$12,487) on the auction site.
Instead of an odometer the Standard 218 has 25 workhours on its clock since its restoration.
It’s powered by a 1.6-litre two-cylinder diesel motor which outputs 18kW (25hp) through a six-speed manual transmission. Other mechanical attributes include a live portal rear axle, dead-beam front axle, and drum brakes for the rear wheels.
Over 12,000 were built under licence by Porsche-Diesel in Friedrichshafen, Germany, but this humble tractor is now often appreciated in classic tractor circles, and as a unique addition to wider Porsche collections.
Before the outbreak of World War II, Adolf Hitler directed Ferdinand Porsche to develop a simplified car and an inexpensive tractor.
The idea behind the Porsche-Diesel Standard was conceived in much the same way as the Volkswagen Beetle – it was intended as the people’s tractor in the same way the Beetle was the people’s car.
By the 1950s the Porsche tractor range grew to encompass the Junior, Standard, and Super.
Much like the Volkswagen Beetle, Porsche tractors outlive their abominable origin stories and are now enjoyed as unique collector pieces – or even for light farm work.
As part of the Drive content team, Tom covers automotive news, car reviews, advice, and holds a special interest in long-form feature stories.
He understands that every car buyer is unique and has varying requirements when it comes to buying a new car, but equally, there’s also a loyal subset of Drive audience that loves entertaining enthusiast content.
Tom holds a deep respect for all things automotive no matter the model, priding himself on noticing the subtle things that make each car tick. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t learn something new in an everchanging industry, which is then imparted to the Drive reader base.
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