How it began
Carl Benz developed a one-cylinder two-stroke stationary gasoline engine that first ran on New Year's Eve 1879. Its commercial success let him pursue a lightweight car in which chassis and engine formed a single unit. The two-seater vehicle was completed in 1885. On January 29, 1886, Benz applied for a patent for his "vehicle powered by a gas engine." Patent number 37435 is described by Mercedes-Benz as the birth certificate of the automobile. In July 1886 newspapers reported the first public outing of the three-wheeled car.
How it works
The vehicle had a compact, high-speed single-cylinder four-stroke engine installed horizontally at the rear, a tubular steel frame, a differential, and three wire-spoked wheels. Engine output was 0.75 hp. Details included an automatic intake slide, a controlled exhaust valve, high-voltage electrical ignition with a spark plug, and water evaporation cooling. A flywheel stabilized the engine's output, and power reached the wheels through a belt drive.
How it spread
In August 1888, Bertha Benz and her sons Eugen and Richard drove an improved version from Mannheim to Pforzheim without Carl Benz's knowledge, a trip of 180 kilometers including the return. Mercedes-Benz calls it the first long-distance journey in automotive history and credits it with demonstrating that the motor vehicle was practical. The car was manufactured and sold between 1887 and 1893.
What changed first
Benz & Cie. in Mannheim grew to become the largest automobile plant of its day. Benz patented double-pivot steering in 1893 and first used it in the Victoria. The Benz Velo of 1894, a lightweight and inexpensive car, became the first production car, with about 1,200 units built.
What lasted
The layout of an internal combustion engine integrated with a purpose-built chassis set the pattern for the motor car. Benz's later contra engine of 1897, with opposed cylinders, is described by Mercedes-Benz as the birth of the horizontally opposed piston engine. Around 1895 Benz & Cie. rebuilt the vehicle in its early 1886 form, and the rebuilt car was given to the Deutsches Museum in 1906. Replicas have been produced since the mid-twentieth century.
