Benz Patent-Motorwagen

Germany 1886

In October 1885, the German engineer Karl Friedrich Benz invented the tricycle with gasoline internal combustion engine. On January 29 of the following year, Benz applied for a design patent to the Imperial Patent Office. The three-wheeled gasoline motor vehicle was immediately recognized as the first car in the world.

Unlike other inventors of the same period, the car designed by Karl Benz is not only a traditional carriage with an internal combustion engine, but also extends the concept of modern car design to assembly of the vehicle. The working principle of the whole car is completely different from the carriage. This car is equipped with a small horizontal single-cylinder four-stroke water-cooled gasoline engine, a carburetor-type fuel supply system, an electric spark ignition unit, and a rack and pinion steering mechanism, which has achieved advanced design. This car also makes Karl Benz become the “father of automobile”.