As a member of NATO, Germany had to rebuild its military capabilities in the 1950s. A number of German automakers, including Porsche, submitted proposals for new military support vehicles. Porsche's prototype, which put a special variant of the Porsche 356 sports car's engine in an all-wheel-drive machine that could ford streams, was passed over by the German military.

Porsche didn't give up on the idea, though, and offered the vehicle to civilians as a Jagdwagen, or "Hunter's Car." Only a few dozen were ever built and only about 15 survive. Seinfeld's is thought to be the most completely original of the world's remaining Jagdwagens, according to Gooding & Co.