1885–1886.
The first
automobile
The first stationary gasoline engine developed by Carl Benz was a one-cylinder two-stroke
unit which ran for the first time on New Year’s Eve 1879. Benz had so much commercial
success with this engine that he was able to devote more time to his dream of creating a
lightweight car powered by a gasoline engine, in which the chassis and engine formed a
single unit.
The major features of the two-seater vehicle, which was completed in 1885, were the compact high-speed single-cylinder
four-stroke engine installed horizontally at the rear, the tubular steel frame, the differential and three wire-spoked wheels.
The engine output was 0.75 hp (0.55 kW). Details included an automatic intake slide, a controlled exhaust valve, high-
voltage electrical vibrator ignition with spark plug, and water/thermo siphon evaporation cooling.
The first automobile
On January 29, 1886, Carl Benz applied for a patent for his “vehicle powered by a gas engine.” The patent – number 37435
– may be regarded as the birth certificate of the automobile. In July 1886 the newspapers reported on the first public outing
of the three-wheeled Benz Patent Motor Car, model no. 1.
More information
Forerunners to the automobile
The Benz Patent Motor Car
Benz-Patent is Part of the World Documentary Heritage
Mercedes-Benz Museum: Visitor information
Long-distance journey by Bertha Benz (1888)
Using an improved version and without her husband’s knowledge,
Benz’s wife Bertha and their two sons Eugen (15) and Richard (14)
embarked on the first long-distance journey in automotive history on
an August day in 1888. The route included a few detours and took
them from Mannheim to Pforzheim, her place of birth. With this
journey of 180 kilometers including the return trip Bertha Benz
demonstrated the practicality of the motor vehicle to the entire world.
Without her daring – and that of her sons – and the decisive stimuli
that resulted from it, the subsequent growth of Benz & Cie. in
Mannheim to become the world’s largest automobile plant of its day
would have been unthinkable.
Bertha Benz and her sons Eugen and Richard during their long-
distance journey in August 1888 with the Benz Patent Motor
Car.
Double-pivot steering, contra engine, planetary gear transmission (1891 –
1897)
It was Carl Benz who had the double-pivot steering system patented in 1893, thereby solving one of the most urgent
problems of the automobile. The first Benz with this steering system was the three-hp (2.2-kW) Victoria in 1893, of which
slightly larger numbers with different bodies were built. The world’s first production car with some 1200 units built was the
Benz Velo of 1894, a lightweight, durable and inexpensive compact car.
1897 saw the development of the “twin engine” consisting of two horizontal single-cylinder units in parallel, however this
proved unsatisfactory. It was immediately followed by a better design, the “contra engine” in which the cylinders were
arranged opposite each other. This was the birth of the horizontally-opposed piston engine. Always installed at the rear by
Benz until 1900, this unit generated up to 16 hp (12 kW) in various versions.
The Benz patent motor car Victoria is the first vehicle with the double-pivot steering for which Carl
Benz filed a patent in 1893.
Back to overview
From the first automobile to
electric cars: The Daimler
AG's history.
1886 - 1920
Beginnings of the
automobile: the predecessor
companies
© 2020 Daimler AG. All Rights Reserved.
* The figures are provided in accordance with the German regulation 'PKW-EnVKV' and apply to the German market only. Further information on official fuel consumption figures and the official
specific CO₂ emissions of new passenger cars can be found in the EU guide 'Information on the fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions and energy consumption of new cars', which is available free of
charge at all sales dealerships, from DAT Deutsche Automobil Treuhand GmbH and at www.dat.de.
** Electric energy consumption and range have been determined on the basis of Regulation (EC) No. 692/2008. Electric energy consumption and range depend on the vehicle configuration.
