the time, and even to

this day) horseless

the current was
reversed). The system
L
ooking back,
most readers
will familiar
with the
technological
masterpiece that is the
959, the ultimate 1980s
four-wheel-drive
supercar, and likewise
carriage known as the
Lohner-Porsche (and
please note the correct
spelling: Lohner, not
Lbhner...). r n in 1875,
Ferdinand Porsche left
his home town of
Maffersdorf and
travelled to Vienna to
With vehicles like the and
4 in the current line-up, you
could forgiven for thinking that the
words 'Porsche' and 'four-wheel-drive'
relatively recent bedfellows. But
you'd wrong. In part of two-
part archive feature, Keith Seume
looks at the early days of Porsche's
foray into the world of all-wheel-drive,
starting with the Lohner-Porsche...
Words: Keith Seume Photos: Porsche Archiv
the 4' moniker
which first appeared
the 964 back in 1989
But did you know that
the first all-wheel-drive
Porsche-designed
vehicle was built as far
back as the 19th
century? that
amphibious Porsche-
designed military 4 4
\ swam rivers in World War
117 And how about
post-war 'Jeep' with
air-cooled, four-cylinder
Porsche engine located
in the 7
Ferdinand Porsche's
first foray into the world
of four-wheel-drive
technology took the
form of amazing (for
take up employment
with Jacob Lohner, who
entrusted him with the
task of developing
electric drivetrain for his
coaches.
Porsche's design was
brilliant, yet in
ways remarkably simple.
The rim of each wheel
was attached directly to
the rotor of electric
motor, the stator (the
part that normally spins
in electric motor)
forming the axle. When
power was turned ,
the rotor (with rim
attached) revolved
around the hub,
propelling the vehicle
forward ( backwards, if
Above: Porsche-designed
NSU 32 was of
the Volksauto prototypes.
There were thoughts
about building four-
wheel-drive version ofthis
totackle road
conditions in areas,
but it never materialised
proved to remarkably
efficient (achieving as
much as 85 cent
efficiency, it is said) and
created quite furore in
the press.
The system provoked
sufficient interest to
order
British coachbuilder, W
Hart, for system to
propel four-seat vehicle
of running
both petrol and electricity
- the world's first hybrid
that also just happened
to the world's first
four-wheel-drive vehicle.
The date? 1898. Powered
what was known as
the System Lohner-
Porsche, Hart's was
enormous, weighing some
four tonnes, with each
motor weighing in at
14Skg! However, this all-
wheel-drive propulsion
system was sufficiently
advanced in concept to
the inspiration for the
lunar rovers built NASA
when exploring the
surface of the in
the late 1960S.
Ferdinand Porsche was
fascinated the
technology and went
to apply it to commercial
vehicles, too. In 1906, he
was appointed technical
director at Austro-Daimler
railway, and featured
hybrid driveline, with six-
cylinder 100 horsepower
petrol engine running in
conjunction with hub-
mounted electric motors.
Each 'train' consisted of
number of wagons (five
the road, up to ten
the track), along with
generator Each
wagon could five
tonne payload. The six-
cylinder engine was
connected to 70kW
generator, which provided
power to the electric
motors fitted to every
second axle of the train.
This multi-wheel-drive
system meant that the
Landwehr Train could
tackle nine cent
slope, considerable
achievement either
road rail at the time.
Moving ahead,
Porsche's fascination with
all-wheel-drive continued
even when his work took
him into the realms of
developing People's
Among the first of his
Vo/ksauto projects was
the NSU 32, the sole
surviving example of
which still seen in
Volkswagen's Autostadt
museum in Wolfsburg.
Although it reached
prototype stage as
engined, rear-wheel-drive
saloon, in 1934 Porsche's
chief designer, Karl Rabe,
penned design for
four-wheel-drive version,
his drawing showing
driveshaft exiting the
of the transmission
casing and heading
in Vienna and there, six
years later, was
responsible for the design
and development of the
'Landwehr Train' (named
after Ottokar Landwehr,
the person who pioneered
the concept). This
gargantuan eight tonne
machine was designed to
run both road and
Below: 'Landwehr
Train' was powered
hub-mounted
electric motors fed
petrol-driven
generator mounted
in ofthe
wagons. This
colossal commercial
vehicle could
road rail
"The world'sflrst hybrld vehlcle, whlch
also happenedto theworld'sflrst
four-wheel-drlve vehlcle..."
PORSCHEARCHIVE
Above: Porsche
designed four-
wheel-drive version
of the KubeLwagen,
call ed the 87
Right and below: Ill-
fated fv1ercedes
Rekordwagen was
six-wheeler, with
the four wheels
powered
V-12 engine. 4WD
allowed to gain
traction despite
narrow tyres ...
forward to differential
unit mounted in the front
axle assembly.
In this instance, the
design never made it off
the drawing board, but it
paved the way for what
was to prove of the
most remarkable military
vehicles of all time: the
5chwimmwagen, the
roots of which
traced back to designer
the of Hannes
Trippel, who had
previously drawn designs
for amphibious military
vehicle with buoyancy
tanks to keep it afloat.
Late in 1939, Porsche's
design team in Stuttgart
drew up plans for
amphibious version of the
two-wheel-drive military
(also known
as the This
was at the behest of the
Waffen 55, which had
asked Porsche if it would
possible to fit of
his four-cylinder air-cooled
engines into motorcycle
frame to produce
lightweight all-terrain
vehicle for their use.
Porsche was
unimpressed this
suggestion and instead
began to sketch out some
ideas for
sophisticated machine.
The resultant prototype
was known as the
128, the first example
taking to the water in
1940. Work also
commenced four-
wheel-drive system
(known as Types 86 and
87), the technology
behind which eventually
led to the final version of
the amphibious
5chwimmwagen.
The 128 first took
to the water in the fire-
pond at the KdF factory
(what is today known as
Wolfsburg), where it
showed potential, even
if the 'crew' did have to
rescued
than occasion when
it broke down. The main
was the shape
of the body, which was
little different to that
from which it was derived
and allowed the interior to
swamped.
second version was
much improved, featuring
as it did boat-
shaped body which
resulted in better stability
and manoeuvrability in
amphibious mode. the
end of September 1940,
several examples of the
revised 128 had
built and extensively
tested in the Max-Eyth-
See, close to Stuttgart.
Mechanically, it was
almost identical to the
Jeep-like
with the exception of
four-wheel-drive system,
with drive taken from the
nose of the gearbox to
differentiallocated
between the torsion
tubes of the front axle.
rear-mounted
propeller used chain-
drive off the crankshaft,
while hinged coupling
allowed it to pivoted
out of the way when the
vehicle was to driven
dry land.
The 128 proved
success and order was
placed for some 30
improved prototypes. As
consequence,Porsche
was given the go-ahead
to develop the design still
further - the result was
the 166
5chwimmwagen, which
appeared late in 1942.
This was very similar to
its immediate
predecessor but had
shorter wheelbase
as opposed to
and narrower
body to make it
agile in battle conditions.
overcome the losses
associated with the all-
wheel-drive system, the
engine size was increased
to and power
output just
to heady 2Sbhp.
The 166
5chwimmwagen was
another of Porsche's
success stories, for
it earned great respect
from soldiers both
sides of the front line.
Indeed, captured
5chwimmwagen
prized trophies among
Allied troops and
among the most sought-
after of all historic
Volkswagens today.
Porsche also developed
four-wheel-drive version
of the known
as the 877.
Commonly, but
incorrectly, referred to as
the 87 (that
designation really refers
to prototype four-wheel-
drive version of the
this
versatile vehicle
known as the
Kommandeurwagen, and
was intended for use
officers in the field.
However, this avenue
was never fully developed,
largely because the body
panels were in short
supply, production at the
factory having turned
from the to
the supply of the
versatile Types and
166. Of the latter,
than 14,000 examples
were built before the end
of hostilities.
The late Major Ivan Hirst
(REME), the British officer
credited with getting the
VW factory back in
operation after the war,
the most
successful ofPorsche's
early four-wheel-drive
designs was the 128,
which ultimately evolved
into the legendary
Schwimmwagen
(bottom left).
had 877
assembled from parts
discovered at the factory.
Speaking to the author
few years ago, he
recalled how badly the
behaved 'It felt
like the front and
wheels were constantly
fighting against each
other. It was virtually
impossible to drive in
straight line.'
But then, with
differential- and certainly
nothing as sophisticated
as viscous coupling -
between the front and
axles, that's not
much of surprise!
Before we head off into
the post-war period of
four-wheel-drive, there is
another rather intriguing
machine for which
Porsche was responsible,
and that's the mighty, but
ultimately ill-fated,
Merecedes
Rekordwagen. This
Leviathan was actually
six-wheeled streamliner,
of which just the four
wheels were driven.
Sanctioned Adolf
Hitler, work the project
began in 1937, with
targeted speed of
ssoKm/h (342mph),
although this goal was
ultimately increased to
some 7soKm/ h (46smph)
the outbreak of war
two years later.
Power was
huge 44.s-litre Daimler-
Benz 'inverted' V-
12, derivative of the
engine used in the
wartime Messerschmit
"Itfeltllkethe rearwheelswere
eachother.
Itwasvlrtuallylmposslbletodrlve..."
Bf109 fighter plane. This
was mounted behind the
driver, feeding power to
transaxle unit, alongside
which were two wheels,
with another pair
separate axle mounted at
the driven shaft
off the end of the
gearbox. The massive
V-12 powerplant was
modified to produce in the
region of
almost 100 cent
increase over that of the
original aero-engine!
The onset of hostilities
meant that the ambitious
project had to put
hold, although the did
survive and is currently
display, unrestored, in the
magnificent Mercedes-
Benz technological
museum in Stuttgart.
the war was over,
people's thoughts
t urned again to
motorsport, among them
was Karl Abarth - he
later changed his to
Carlo Abarth, having
relocated to Italy from his
native Austria. Abarth was
married to the secretary
of Anton Porsche's
lawyer, and ultimately
established regular
contact with Ferdinand
Porsche mail. third
person entered the scene
at this point: Rudolph
Hruska, Austrian
engineer based in Italy.
As the three-way
relationship blossomed,
Porsche enquired whether
Abarth and Hruska would
like to his agents
in Italy, not to market
cars, but to promote
his studio's design
skills.
Abarth's contacts
led to project to
build Grand Prix
for Tazio Nuvolari, the
famed pre-war Italian
racing driver, the
prospect of which
excited Porsche. The
only was
of funding.
The solution to
this 'minor' matter
in the hands -
rather, the bank
account - of Piero
Dusio, head of the Cisitalia
in Italy.
Dusio had made his
fortune supplying
boots to the Italian
and, despite lack of
engineering knowledge,
he was enthusiastic
sponsor behind
ambitious project to build
racing
It was easy task for
Porsche to design new
from scratch, the
restrictions placed upon
German citizens the
occupying forces in the
immediate post-war
period meant that all
engineering projects had
to given the - even
racing
The outcome was the
Grand Prix
pretty little mid-engined
single-seater powered
amazing 1.s-litre flat-
12 engine. This was
projected to produce in
the region of 400 to
4sobhp, giving top
speed of around
with the engine
turning at up to

But, as was so often
the case in the days of
narrow tyres, traction was
clearly going to
combat this,
the Cisitalia was
equipped with selectable
four-wheel-drive - the
would normally driven
with rear-drive only but
when accelerating out of
tight corners, up hill,
the driver could push
lever and engage drive to
the front wheels, too.
In addition, the Cisitalia
also featured
sequentially-shifted
synchronised gearbox
designed Leopold
Schmid. Impressive stuff
for 1947 ...
Sadly, this all-wheel-
drive engineering
masterpiece never took
to the track, Dusio turning
his attentions to
producing Cisitalia
sportscars for road and
competition use. had
other ideas, too, including
the production of low-
cost (to build), high-price
(to sell) sportscar based
relatively simple
driveline. Inspiration for
Porsche's
Undoubtedly...
With the formation of
NATO in 1949 the
need for simple, mass-
produced vehicle in the
style of the wartime US
military Jeep and Porsche
was German
vying for the opportunity
to equip with
suitable off-road vehicle.
The two other companies
which expressed
interest in designing such
machine were Goliath
and DKW.
Now the idea of
Above: 166 front axle,
showing
driveshafts and differential.
Below left: AH-wheel-drive
166lent itselfto use
in situations!
Below right: 877 was
with
Schwimmwagen drivetrain
Porsche again
entering the military
'market' might seem
strange, but this was
period when every
manufacturer was looking
for work of kind in
order to generate much-
needed revenue - the
aforementioned Cisitalia
project is proof of that.
Porsche was also in
strong position, having
access to pool of the
finest engineers. Goliath,
offshoot of the
Borgward
struggled as
manufacturer of small
'
engaging simpledog-clutch
pushing lever, drivecould transferred
tothefrontwheels..."
.
Il!
vans and was in
financialstate.This was
lastchanceforthe
tosurvive.DKW
had alsofallen hard
times,itspassengercars
withtheirpunytwo-
strokeengineslacking
massappeal.
Goliath'sdesignwas
doomedfromthestart,
forthepowersthat in
doubtedthe
had the
wherewithaltofulfil
militarycontract.DKW,
theotherhand,submitted
interestinglightweight
design,which promisedto
cheaptobuild, butwas
poweredyetagain
two-strokemotor.Called
theMunga, itwasto
provePorsche'sNemesis.
comparison,
Porsche'sdesign,known
internallyasthe
597, butlater
popularlyas the
Jagdwagen ('hunting
wasfar
sophisticatedthanrival
efforts,withpart-time
four-wheel-drive, torsion-
left and below:
Amazing Cisitalia Grand
Prix featured part-time
four-wheel-drive
Left: 597Jagdwagen
wasdesigned
Front axle assembly was
similar to that of
suspension and five- was exhibitedatthe
speedtransmisssion Genevamotorshowin
equippedwith ultra- March1955,withthe
lowratioforseriousoff- promiseof civilian model
road use. The firstcars becomingavailablefor
werefittedwith thosewhowantedthe
engine,butproduction bestin off-roadvehicles.
modelsrelied 50bhp There was even sales
unit, detuned brochureprinted,
356engine, withlower proclaimingthatthe
compressionand single Jagdwagen 'will four
Zenith 32NDIXtwo-barrel passengers overhilland
carburettor. daletohuntinglodges
normalroad and fishingspots'.
conditions,the Consideringthatatthe
Jagdwagen in timethe'opposition'in
wheel-drive, but thismarketcomprised
engaging simple dog little thanthe
clutch pushing lever crudely-equipped British
forward,drivewould Land Rover, thetype 597
transferredtothefront could have
wheelsforoff-roaduse.It legend liketheBritish-
was simple system builtoff-roaderhas.
withoutthebenefitof Butitfailed atthelast
free-wheelinghubsbut hurdle- thecostof
perfectlyadequatefor productionwas simplytoo
theintendedmilitaryuse. high, and thesimple,
The bodywork best cheap DKW Mungawon
describedas basic, the contract.
with ribbed bodypanels Itwas bitter- and
forstrength,and seating costly- pillforPorscheto
forfour five soldiers. swallow.Withjust71
The sparewheelwas examplesbuilt,the
locatedverticallyatthe Jagdwagen fellintothe
frontofthevehicle, 'whatmighthave
providingsome protection categoryin Porsche
in theeventof collision history.Itwould
as wellas placingsome than decadebefore
much-needed weightover Porscheventured
thefrontwheels. again intotheworldofall-
testing,the wheel-drive, and thatis
Jagdwagen proved subjectwe'lllookatin
superb. militaryversion nextmonth'sissue... PW