The idea of accessorizing your collection around an affinity for a certain brand is not a new concept. To someone who has a garage full of Porsches, adding one of the few tractors produced by the company in the 1950s and 60s might make a fair bit of sense. I have fallen victim to this thought process, as I’ve picked up a motorcycle or two to accentuate some of my cars, but I’ll tell you what: I haven’t ridden a single one, and I’d like to free up some space for things I’ll actually use. If you have a farm that needs occasional light duty and you love Porsches, this 1962 238 Standard Star tractor listed here on eBay $28,500 or best offer could be worth a spot in the garage.
These tractors have been treated like novelties for some time, and Lamborghini also has a few farm implements in its roster. Whether they were truly good at being tractors is a detail I’ve never been able to fully confirm, but these credentials certainly seemed to pass muster: at the end of production, over 125,000 examples had been exported, which suggests they were onto something. The Porsche tractor was licensed to other manufacturers to produce due to a requirement post-WWII that Porsche not manufacture them directly. The company Mannesmann AG acquired the rights to Porsche’s engine and Allgaier GmbH’s tractor design, setting mass production in motion.
Although Porsche began with an air-cooled engine design in 1, 2, 3, and 4-cylinder variants and producing in the range of 14 to 55 horsepower, the example shown here features a 25hp air-cooled twin-cylinder diesel engine. The seller claims it has undergone a previous restoration and still presents and drives well, with no issues starting up and running. One of the more unique features of this tractor is a hydraulic coupling between the engine and gearbox, which allows for clutch-less gear changes, an ironic twist of sorts considering Porsche and Volkswagen pioneered the no-clutch manual shifter with the Sportomatic transmission.
Back to my earlier point about buying vehicles like these as accent pieces. I think this thing is ridiculously cool and as a Porsche fan, I would love to have the space to park it for the sheer entertainment and conversation value. Alas, I don’t, and I suspect most people will struggle with the idea of forking over $30,000 for something they can’t use and that isn’t exactly easy to store and move around. Regardless, it’s the classic case of, For the Porsche fan that has everything, and I’m sure someone will grab it to have as a centerpiece to a collection that is lacking in vintage tractor inventory. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Mitchell G. for the tip!
Finally, a Porsche for a real man
Ach, grun hektars iz das platz to be,(pardon my German, it was forbidden in our family),,growing up, we thought we were the only farmers in the world, except those rice paddy’s. Case, IH, JD, Auntie Allis, maybe a Minne-Mo, but a Porsche? No way, but believe it or not, around the world, people were farmers, the oldest profession. It was clear, not everyone could afford their automobiles, so they had to diversify. Lambo, Porsche, and others needed something, heck IH made refrigerators for a spell, John Deere made snowmobiles,, and usually had nothing in common with each other.
Since no 1/4 mile times are available, this tractor cost about $1900 American, but some models went as high as $3200, when a Ford or IH was about half that. A hefty investment for the farm, and they usually bought one, and it wasn’t a Porsche or Lambo in Cowpoop Flats, Wis. Tractors are cool because they are all business, and I believe these have a “live” pto, a huge plus, trust me. Cool find, sadly I’m about $28grand short,, and by all rights, should be in Scotty Gs “warehouse of the odd”,,,
Farming..the next-to-oldest profession. Eve was no doubt “bartering” with Adam.
Darn.. I really wanted to see 1/4 mile times and cornering stats. Maybe somebody at least knows how many acres per hour it will do? Thanks for the clarification on Cowpoop Flats too btw, all this time I thought it was in Montana somewhere around Buffalo Dung Ridge.
Seriously though, I have a great deal of respect for farmers, my late grandfather farmed in NE Nebraska for many decades and as a kid I loved riding around the fields on his old John Deere Model A when we’d go vistit in the summer.
Who’da thunk? A tractor designed by Porsche. Brings to mind an Italian tractor manufacturer, Laverda. They made tractors and other farm equipment, and a line of sweet running and handling sport motorcycles.
Using a modular diesel engine, Porsche designed a series of these: the one-cylinder Junior, the two-cylinder Standard, the three-cylinder Super, and the four-cylinder Master. Many came to the U.S. importer/distributor in Easton, Pennsylvania. People have been restoring them for years, but prices have risen dramatically. I’ve actually driven one in an autocross–on dirt. Would love to have one, but I can’t justify spending the money.
Lamborghini started as a tractor manufacturer in 1948. First tractor was the ‘Carioca’, which had an innovative fuel atomizer that allowed it to run on petrol or diesel. First Lamborghini sports car wasn’t built until 1963.
The ignition is on the right, LOL.
I love classic tractors; I have a 1946 Ford 2N that I picked up for only $1300. It runs runs and drives but needs work (hydraulics don’t work, needs tires, etc). Porsche tractors are very cool but it is ridiculous how much money they go for. You can get a nice Ford, Farmall, John Deere, etc for well under $10k. Even if the Porsches are in fact better than the other brands, there’s no way that this Porsche tractor is more than $20k better than a Ford 2N or Farmall Cub!!!