The first car invented was the 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen.
First high-speed single-cylinder
four-stroke engine, the Patent-Motorwagen was not a converted
carriage but an independent, integral design.
On January 29, 1886, Karl Benz applied for a patent, and the German
Reich Patent No. 37435a was granted in November.
That's why it is officially considered the first car invented.
The Inventor
The Patent-Motorwagen was born due to the geniality and persistence of Karl Friedrich Benz (1844-1929).
He had no precedents on which to draw, having to invent his own layout in every detail.
He had to decide, only by himself, how, how many and which wheels should be driven, where to place the engine,
how to make brakes work, use chains or belts...
The Karl Benz biography is the story
of the First Car Invented. Back in those days, inventions were usually a "one man's job",
as it was in his case.
The Car
There's a beginning to every story. For the automobile adventure, Karl Benz wrote the foreword in 1885
with the Tricycle, which later became the Patent-Motorwagen. It was almost as if the
first car invented had a "prototype"!
Benz created innovative technology with classic engineering methods:
a small horizontal, single-cylinder four-stroke engine running on benzin,
electric ignition, carburetor, water-cooled radiator, steering and a tubular
frame.
Engine
Single cylinder, horizontally mounted, fore-and-aft in frame, with exposed vertical crankshaft and flywheel.
Water cooled. Bore and stroke, capacity: 4.56 x 6.30in, 103.2cu in (116 x 169mm, 1691cc). Two valves,
single cam operating exhaust valve by rockers and levers and offset pin in cam-end face operating inlet slide valve.
Benz surface carburetor. Maximum power: (approx) 1.5bhp at 250/300rpm. Engine mounted behind seats and in front
of driven rear axle.
Transmission
Belt drive from flywheel to differential and cross-shaft, all in unit with engine.
Final drive to rear wheels by chain. Release of direct drive (no step-down gears provided) by pulling belt-control
arm to neutral position.
Chassis
Separate tubular chassis frame. Three wheels, single front wheel mounted and controlled in bicycle fashion.
Cog-and-twin rack steering between vertical steering posts of front wheel and steering column via drag links.
Front wheel suspended by full-elliptic leaf spring and radius arms. Rear suspension by full-elliptic leaf springs.
No dampers. Rear wheel transmission brakes operated by belt-control lever. Center-lock wire wheels and solid tires.
Dimensions
Wheelbase: 4ft 9.1in (1.45m). Unladen weight: 585lb (265kg).
