1886 motorboat

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First motorized boat: The amazing story of the world’s oldest motorboat

137 years ago, Lürssen Yachts built what is widely considered to be the world's first motorized boat...

Called Rems , the world’s first motorized boat was commissioned by inventor and engine manufacturer Gottlieb Daimler. He wanted something that could really test his engines, and approached Friedrich Lürssen, founder of Lürssen Yachts.

When Friedrich Lürssen completed his training as a boat builder, his father feared that the boatyard where he worked wouldn’t be able to support the two Lürssen families. He encouraged Friedrich to open his own workshop and so, in 1875, Lürssen Yachts was born.

The firm began manufacturing and selling sport rowing boats to a market that was blossoming. the first boats built displayed such originality and quality that it wasn’t long until the boatbuilder was selling boats across the whole of germany..

It’s said that the motorboat built by Lürssen Yachts in 1886 was the world’s first. She was commissioned by inventor and engine manufacturer Gottlieb Daimler, who wanted to put his engine through its paces.

The engine powering the world’s first motorized boat had a cylinder capacity volume of 0.462 litres, weighed 60kg and had an output of 1.5hp at 700rpm. When Daimler made his first attempt at a trial run, a group of irate locals stopped him from taking the motorboat on the water.

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Rumours of someone testing a boat whose power was generated by explosions had spread through the community. The local people worried the tests would be a life threatening pursuit.

In 1896 the 12m motorboat Daimler was delivered. She helped to establish Lürssen Yachts as one of the most prominent motorboat builders in the then Imperial Germany.

The first motorboat race took place off the coast of Monaco. Lürssen Yachts attracted a lot of attention as a new competitor, gaining the company a significant amount of attention from the motorboating community across the world.

It was the founder’s son who had the passion for fast racing boats. In 1905 Otto Lürssen developed racing speedboat Donnerwetter . She reached nearly 35 knots with a 40hp engine, which was remarkable for the time. Otto became a partner at Lürssen yachts two years later.

In 1911 Otto competed in a motorboat race at Monaco in one of his boats, the Lürssen-Daimler . Owned by Daimler, built by Lürssen Yachts and fitted with a Daimler petrol engine with 102hp that could run at around 50km/h, she won four awards at the show.

When Friedrich Lürssen, the founder of Lürssen Yachts, died unexpectedly aged 65, the business was passed on to his son Otto. It remains in the Lürssen family, passing through the generations, and is now the builder of some of the world’s largest superyachts .

First published on YBW.com in 2011

It’s said that the motorboat built by Lürssen Yachts in 1886 was the world’s first. She was commissioned by inventor and engine manufacturer Gottlieb Daimler, who wanted to put his engine through its paces. The engine powering the world’s first motorboat had a cylinder capacity volume of 0.462 litres, weighed 60kg and had an output of 1.5hp at 700rpm.

When daimler made his first attempt at a trial run, a group of irate locals stopped him from taking the motorboat on the water. rumours of someone testing a boat whose power was generated by explosions had spread through the community. the local people worried the tests would be a life threatening pursuit., in 1896 the 12m motorboat, named the daimler, was delivered. she helped to establish lürssen yachts as one of the most prominent motorboat builders in the then imperial germany., it was the founder’s son who had the passion for fast racing boats. in 1905 otto lürssen developed racing speedboat donnerwetter. she reached nearly 35 knots with a 40-hp engine, which was remarkable for the time.otto became a partner at lürssen yachts two years later., in 1911 otto competed in a motorboat race at monaco in one of his boats, the lürssen-daimler. owned by daimler, built by lürssen yachts and fitted with a daimler petrol engine with 102-hp that could run at around 50km/h, she won four awards at the show., when friedrich lürssen, the founder of lürssen yachts, died unexpectedly aged 65, the business was passed on to his son otto.it remains in the lürssen family, passing through generations as the boatbuilder continues to grow., best riva boats: 10 stunning boats from the famous italian builder, buying a used nimbus commuter 9 motor boat, why my motorboat will be the perfect boat for cruises to corsica, latest videos, galeon 440 fly sea trial: you won’t believe how much they’ve packed in, parker sorrento yacht tour: 50-knot cruiser with a killer aft cabin, yamarin 80 dc tour: a new direction for the nordic day cruiser, is this the best compact cruiser money can buy aquador 250 ht tour.

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1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen – Birth of the Motorcar

This January 29th of Twenty-O-Six we celebrate the birth of an idea put forward 120 years ago, that man should not be limited in his ability to travel by the constraints of steel rails or the shortcomings of horse-drawn carriages. To be truly free, one must not be encumbered by schedules and routes, or the stamina of horses. Thus a young German engineer named Carl Benz took to task the idea of motorized personal transportation in the mid 1880s.

The birth of the automobile, powered by an internal combustion engine, can be traced back to 1885 when Benz opened the doors of his small Mannheim workshop and rode around the yard in a three-wheeled carriage powered by a single cylinder engine of his own design. Of course, in 1885 the gasoline engine was not a new idea. Large, stationary engines had been in use since the latter part of the century to power industrial and farm machinery, in fact, Carl Benz had pioneered their development. It was his conception of a small, single-cylinder version, however, that allowed him to create a phenomenon—the motorized carriage.

Having completed his first prototype single-cylinder three-wheeler, he went about applying for a patent, thereby making him the first to stake a claim for the design of a gasoline-powered motor carriage. German patent number 37435 was assigned to Benz on January 29, 1886. Shortly after, Gottlieb Daimler and his associate Wilhelm Maybach also applied to the patent office for their design. But Benz has been first.

Carl Benz was a graduate of the Karlsruhe Polytechnikum and began his engineering career in Mannheim designing scales for Karl Schenck. Not overly enthralled with the weighty challenges at Schenck, he moved to Pforzheim to build bridges for the firm of Benckiser Brothers, work in which the young engineer could take pride.

It was during his tenure at Benckiser that Carl met a beautiful, headstrong 20-year-old girl named Cäcilie Bertha Ringer. In 1870 she accepted a proposal of marriage from Carl Friedrich Benz, almost five years her senior, at the Harmony social club in Pforzheim. At the time, she had no idea of the epochal role she would play in her husband’s life or in the as yet non-existent automotive history. The vigor and decisiveness demonstrated by this young woman, as well as the determination with which she tackled her fiancé’s problems and concerns, proved remarkable not only for that time.

After they were engaged, Carl went into business for himself, taking in a short-lived partner named August Ritter. They opened a machine shop in Mannheim, but Ritter soon departed when additional funds were needed to keep the doors open. This prompted the spirited Bertha to borrow against her dowry so her fiancé could buy out Ritter’s interests in the new firm. From then on the business adopted the name Eisengiesserei und mechanische Werkstätte (Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop).

Owning a business and making it successful were to become two very different things for the new Mr. & Mrs. Benz, who were married in July 1872. In 1873 their son Eugen was born, followed by Richard in 1874. Their daughters Clara and Tilde were born in 1877 and 1882, respectively. Success had continued to elude the couple until 1880 when Carl introduced his first stationary engine. The “embryonic two-stroke engine”, as christened by Carl Benz, finally came into being on New Year’s Eve 1879 after many attempts, disappointment and privations, and for the first time, it continued to run smoothly. For Bertha and Carl it was a gift from heaven: “The more it hums, the more it enchants the pressing worries away from my heart,” concluded Carl on that fateful evening. The more troublesome two-stroke design had been his only choice. He had been prevented from building a four-stroke engine due to a patent granted to Nikolaus August Otto in 1877.

Around 1881 Carl took in a new partner to help finance the venture, Emil Bühler, a successful local photographer. Benz was responsible for building his stationary engines and Bühler for sales and marketing. He hired a sale’s agent named Otto Schmuck, who unfortunately spent more money promoting sales than he took in, requiring the small company to hastily apply for a loan. The first requirement of the local bankers was for Benz to form a corporation before any funds could be considered. Thus in October 1882, Gasmotorenfabrik Mannheim was established with a nine-member board of directors.

The harmony among the board was short-lived and within three months Benz had come to words with all of the investors over designs, most notably his plans for a small engine to power a motor driven carriage, at which point several of the board’s more outspoken members questioned Benz’s sanity! In the fall of 1883 he resigned from the company. Wrote Carl, “During those days when disaster struck on the sea of life, only one person was waiting by my side. That was my wife. Fearless and courageous, she hoisted up new sails of hope.”

Still resolute in his plan to build a motorized wagon, and with Bertha’s encouragement, Benz caught the ear and pocketbook of not one but two very successful businessmen, Max Kaspar Rose and Friedrich Wilhelm Esslinger, who jointly financed the creation of Benz & Cie., Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik on October 1, 1883. Less than a month after leaving Gasmotorenfabrik Mannheim, Carl Benz was back in business.

The new company’s primary trade would be the production and sales of the Benz stationary engine, which quickly brought riches to both Benz and his backers, leaving him the time to experiment and develop a motor suitable to power a “horseless carriage.”

Benz had used coal gas to power his now very successful stationary engines and was wondering how to fuel his small, motorwagen engine, when the solution was provided by a local fire in Mannheim. It began when a bowl of benzene being used to clean work gloves was ignited by a spark. Benz reasoned that this highly volatile fluid could work in an engine, if the explosion could be controlled, and a proper spark provided to ignite it. His solution was a battery and trembler coil system with a spark plug which he designed himself. Unknown to Benz, Daimler and Maybach had come to this same conclusion. There was a race on to build a motor carriage, and neither entrant in this race knew of the other’s existence!

Benz, as well as his partners, Rose and Esslinger, was an avid bicyclist and though he had given the idea a great deal of thought, considering both four and three-wheeled designs for his motorwagen, he never considered the horse-drawn carriage as a basis for his design. A tricycle configuration with power transferred to the rear wheels by a chain, appeared more logical, less complicated, lighter and easier to steer. This was the direction he chose when his concept for the motorwagen began to take shape in 1885.

A two-stroke engine developing approximately two-thirds of a horsepower at 250rpm, was placed on its side at the rear of the three-wheeler, with the immense flywheel running horizontally. The initial trial was in the fall, whereupon the very first motorized wagon built by Carl Benz stalled and when restarted proceeded to snap the drive chain!

After making some minor improvements he was ready for another test run a few weeks later. Sitting proudly at the tiller, and with Bertha at his side this time, the engine was started by one of his assistants spinning the flywheel, and after engaging the chain drive Carl Benz proceeded to drive the Motorwagen straight into the brick wall of his shop, making this not only the first but shortest road test in history.

His next tests were conducted with his son Eugene running alongside the motorwagen carrying a can of gasoline. It seemed the inventor had yet to create the first gas tank. That done, and the patent received in January, Benz set out in July 1886 to make the motorwagen a household word. He had a long road ahead of him.

Still in the developmental stages, Benz was hesitant to begin production of his new Patent Motorwagen. His testing had been confined to the road and yard surrounding his workshop. And while most would assume that the inventor of the motor carriage would be the first to actually take it out for a long distance trial, it was, in fact, Carl’s wife Bertha who would go down in history as the first motorist. Yes ladies and gentlemen, the world’s first driver was a woman.

In the summer of 1888 Bertha decided to “test drive” the second prototype Motorwagen on a journey from Mannheim to Pforzheim, a distance of more than 50 miles. With her two sons, Eugen and Richard, she set out at dawn and made the trip in a single day. Wiring her husband, who had been informed of her plans by the note she left for him on the kitchen table, “We’re traveling to Pforzheim to visit Grandma,” she wrote that they had arrived without any significant incidents. Even Bertha’s father was extremely pleased about the first trip. “Father was so happy, we had finally achieved our goal,” she wrote.

Bertha’s trip had been almost uneventful, except for the fact that no one had ever seen a motor carriage, and the three-wheeler drew considerable crowds at every village along the route. They stopped in Heidelberg for a snack and then in Wiesloch at an apothecary to fill the radiator and purchase benzene for the fuel tank. The town pharmacy, which still exists today, prides itself as having been “the world’s first filling station.”

On the road they encountered two mechanical problems, which Bertha tackled with feminine ingenuity. A clogged fuel line was cleared with her hatpin, and when an ignition wire short-circuited she made an insulator out of one of her garters! The only other problem was the brake block, which she had fitted with a new piece of leather by a farrier in Bauschlott. They arrived in Pforzheim just as the sun was setting. So the first step had been taken. In completing the very first long-distance journey in automotive history, Bertha Benz was not only able to prove to her husband, as was her original intention, but also to the many skeptics that a great future awaited the automobile. With her 50 mile journey, she was able to demonstrate the practicality of the motorcar. Without the daring courage of Bertha and that of her sons, as well as the decisive impulses it provided, the subsequent rise of Messrs. Benz & Cie., as the Mannheim-based company was called at a later stage, to become the world’s largest automobile manufacturer for a time would have been inconceivable.

While an improved Model 3 was being readied for exhibit in Munich, Bertha suggested one additional improvement to her husband’s design, a low gear for hills, as Bertha and the boys had had to push the car up every steep grade on their first trip. By year’s end the improved Benz third version motorwagen was on the road, though not necessarily the road to success.

The horse and buggy was not so easily pushed aside as one’s personal livery. First of all, just like a horse, a motorwagen needed fuel. Hay was plentiful, gasoline (benzene), on the other hand, was not. In the late 19th century no on had yet conceived of a gas station. Benzene had to be purchased at an apothecary and usually in small quantities, rarely more than five liters. The world was not quite ready for the Benz Patent Motorwagen, and it took until 1892 before any significant sales were recorded. But Carl and Bertha Benz were determined to succeed.

Back in September 1888, Benz had displayed the Model 3 Patent Motorwagen at the Munich Engineering Exposition and offered test drives to anyone interested. Wrote one newspaper of the Benz’s appearance in Munich; “Seldom, if ever, have passersby in the streets of our city seen a more starting sight.” Another publication noted that “…without any sign of steam or other visible means of propulsion, human or otherwise, the vehicle proceeded on its way without difficulty…It was followed by a great crowd of breathless pedestrians.”

The year 1888 went down in German history as the Year of the Three Emperors. Heinrich Hertz succeeded in generating and proving the existence of electromagnetic waves, Fridtjof Nansen crossed Greenland on skis, European railroad connections finally reached Constantinople and world exhibitions were staged in Barcelona, Melbourne, Moscow and Sydney. Carl Benz came home from Munich with a Gold medal from the Exposition, but not with a book full of orders. A year later Benz’s first sales agent, French importer Emile Roger, displayed the Patent Motorwagen at the Paris Exposition. By the end of 1892 he had sold almost a dozen and more were on order. The “production” models built from 1886 to 1889 were powered by a single-cylinder engine with a swept volume ranging from 1045cc to 1660cc and finally 1990cc. Power also improved from 1.5 to 2.5 and then 3 horsepower at 500rpm. A total of 25 were built.

In 1892 Benz & Cie. introduced the more advanced four-wheel Viktoria model, and in 1894 a third design known as the Velo (short for velocipede), the latter produced through 1900.

If there was indeed a race to see who would build the first production motorcar in Germany, it was Benz who would cross the sales finish line with the Velo, the first successfully marketed horseless carriage in Europe. It was followed by the Benz Ideal and a succession of new models on an almost yearly basis making Benz & Cie. one of the largest automakers in the world by 1900 with more than 1,250 motorcars sold since 1887. Of course by then Carl Benz had some serious competition from his neighbors some 60 miles away in Cannstatt—Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Maybach, as well as other emerging motorcar builders throughout Europe and in the United States.

Thanks to Carl Benz and an idea that his first business associates thought was insane, man has traveled the world on wheels of rubber for 120 years.

By Dennis Adler © Car Collector Magazine, LLC. (Click for more Car Collector Magazine articles) Originally appeared in the January 2006 Issue

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September 25th, 2019

The history of fender lines.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart celebrates the automobile invented by Carl Benz in 1886: it relates its history and tells its stories, bringing both alive by placing them in the context of technology, day-to-day life, social history and popular culture. More than 160 vehicles of all types are the main protagonists. They range from some of the oldest automobiles ever built to legendary racing cars and futuristic research vehicles.

Together with other exhibits, they form the centrepiece of the permanent exhibition covering a total of 16,500 square metres in twelve rooms. This unparalleled world can be discovered on two tours that follow a “Legend” and “Collection” narrative.

Opening hours .  Tuesday to Sunday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed on Monday. Box office closing time: 5 p.m. Last elevator ride: 5:20 pm

Mercedesstraße 100, 70372 Stuttgart Please note the opening hours during the holidays.

Day ticket: 16.00 €, reduced: 8.00 € Free entry for children (up to and including the age of 12). Further information on the prices  here .

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• Archive number : D24131
• Caption : In 1886 the first Daimler motorboat completed numerous journeys on the Neckar river near Cannstatt (Stuttgart). (In front of the helmsman: Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach)
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The First Four-Wheeled Daimler Motor Car (1886)

• Forging an Empire: Bismarckian Germany (1866-1890)
• Demographic and Economic Development
• Source (27/36)

In 1885, Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), together with his partner Wilhelm Maybach (1846–1929), adapted an early model of the internal combustion engine and patented what is generally recognized as the prototype of the modern gas engine. The 1885 Daimler-Maybach engine was small and lightweight, and by the end of the year it was put to use in both the first motorcycle and the first motorboat. On March 8, 1886, Daimler took a stagecoach (made by Wilhelm Wimpff & Son) and adapted it so that it would accommodate his engine. In the process, he ended up designing the world’s first four-wheeled automobile, shown here. It was capable of a top speed of 18 kilometers per hour. In 1890, Daimler founded the Daimler Motor Company in Cannstatt, near Stuttgart, to mass-produce his designs. In 1899, Daimler asked Maybach to design a racing car, which was given the name “Mercedes.”

• Gottlieb Daimler

Source: The first four-wheeled Daimler motor car (1886). bpk-Bildagentur, image number 20007006. For rights inquiries, please contact Art Resource at [email protected] (North America) or bpk-Bildagentur at [email protected] (for all other countries).

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First Automobile Powered by the Internal Combustion Engine (1886), published in German History Intersections , https://germanhistory-intersections.org/en/knowledge-and-education/ghis:image-62  

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1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen Photos

From the Archive: Carl Benz's first motor carriage was a lousy alternative to a horse in the 1880s, but it helped kickstart the automobile's profound advancement since.

1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen

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1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen First Drive Review

It may look like a three-wheeled park bench, but this is the genesis for the modern automobile.

• August 3rd, 2022
• Karl Benz filed the patent for this internal-combustion-powered three-wheeled automobile in 1886.
• The Patent Motorwagen is generally considered the first practical automobile.
• Rudimentary is an understatement.

In 1886, Karl Benz filed a patent for a small internal-combustion-powered vehicle that's widely considered to be the first car as we know it today. It's about as basic as motorized transportation gets, but the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen offers a truly singular experience, and not just because it lacks a steering wheel. It's loud, crude and terribly inefficient yet utterly and completely charming.

What is the Patent Motorwagen?

Personal self-propelled transportation. Put more simply, it's an alternative to walking or horse-drawn carriage and not much more. There's a padded bench seat that's barely wide enough for two adults. The floor is made from wood and the frame is steel tubing. The wheels — and there are only three of them — are wrapped in solid rubber (and are, therefore, technically run-flat) tires. Behind and below you is the engine. It's mounted directly to the frame, so every single vibration is felt right through the seat. There's brass everywhere. The suspension is basically what would be found on a cart or carriage. There's no instrument cluster. There's no radio. It doesn't even have pedals. It simply runs using hand controls and hope.

When compared to its contemporary alternatives, the Patent Motorwagen has a lot going for it. Horses need to be fed. They get sick, too, and, at the end of the day, are conscious creatures that don't always have to listen to what you say. Few things are more frustrating than when your horse won't start. The train only takes you from station to station. The car goes everywhere. Sure, there are modes of transport that also don't produce manure and aren't limited to rail, but do you really want to be seen riding a penny-farthing over pockmarked dirt roads?

That said, the horse bit of the horse-drawn carriage is a helpful driver aid, and you can arrange them in rows to increase towing and hauling capacity. The railroad is quicker and more reliable and has the advantage of requiring little effort beyond handing over a ticket and finding a seat.

What's under the Patent Motorwagen's hood?

The Patent Motorwagen doesn't have a hood per se — this doorless mid-engine spyder's motor is exposed to the elements. The 1.0-liter four-stroke single-cylinder engine makes roughly 0.75 horsepower at about 400 rpm. Neither one of those last two figures is a typo. It's water cooled, too, though the evaporative (rather than recirculating) cooling system needs to be constantly refilled with water. There is no fuel tank or fuel pump; you simply fill the carburetor with 4.5 liters of fuel. The fuel itself isn't gasoline but a petroleum product called ligroin that should be available at your local chemist (likely located across the road from a haberdashery or apothecary).

The heavy flywheel is about the size of an extra-large pizza. Prime the air-fuel mixture by giving the flywheel a little tug. There's a little hiss as the fluid moves. You have to spin it to get the engine going, but if it's not spun hard enough, it could snap back with enough force to break a wrist. Get it right and it putts to life, its single spark plug firing at such a slow rate that the engine sounds like it might stall at any second.

How does it drive?

It's actually very simple to operate. There's a large lever on the left-hand side of the car; push it forward to accelerate and pull it back to slow down. You steer the lone front wheel via a handle mounted right in the center. That's it. No pedals. No shifter. No speedometer to tell you how fast you're going and no fuel gauge to tell you when you're running low. Just drive until the carburetor or the evaporative cooling system run dry.

Push the lever forward to engage the single-speed transmission. The handle moves a leather belt from an open gear to a drive gear. That in turn rotates chains attached to each rear wheel. With less than a single horsepower on tap, the Patent Motorwagen moves with big "I haven't had my coffee yet" energy. The car creeps off the line as the engine starts to speed up, each pop coming a little sooner than the last as the revs continue to build. Eventually it settles into a steady series of putts.

Once moving, you can essentially run at wide open throttle, though full throttle is only good for about 18 mph. Barely neighborhood speeds but much quicker than walking. The Patent Motorwagen's lackadaisical demeanor goes for both accelerating and braking. The brakes themselves are made from shoe leather, so it's a good thing there's not a ton of mass to slow down. The car moves slowly enough that there's plenty of time to avoid obstacles or navigate a turn.

Turning may be the oddest thing about driving the Patent Motorwagen. The steering column hadn't been invented yet, so there's no steering wheel. Instead, it uses a vertical handle that you move left and right. Steering the car's front wheel is much more akin to turning a bicycle than an automobile. Honestly, a bicycle handlebar would be much easier to use, but that would require two hands. There's a reason why autos of every ilk use a combination of hand and foot controls.

It doesn't take long to figure out how to smoothly accelerate, brake and turn. The controls are extremely simple, and as long as you're aware of the physics involved with a three-wheeled vehicle, steering becomes easier. Simply put, slow down in a straight line and don't turn too quickly. You sit very high up, and the sensation that you might topple over at any second never really goes away. Using the lever feels natural if unusual.

The lack of a windshield (or windows or roof) isn't really a problem. If you can handle the wind in your face while riding a bicycle, you can handle the Benz. There is no sort of safety equipment either. Your feet serve as the crumple zone, and the chance of being tossed from the car in a collision is high since there's no restraint to keep you in place. We would also avoid driving at night as there's no lighting of any sort on the vehicle.

Our drive was done with an expert and caretaker from the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in the passenger seat. It's snug with two adults, so be sure you've made friends with your traveling partner as you two will be quite cozy. While the top speed wouldn't change, the car would likely feel quicker and slow down easier with just a single occupant.

Check back for a full evaluation of the 1886 Benz Motorwagen after we take it around our test track, measuring its 0-? mph acceleration (or more likely its top speed), braking performance and handling limits. We'll have to source a full crash suit and up our insurance for that last one as you're likely to be tossed from the car in the event of a tip-over.

What else should I know?

In 1888 Karl Benz began selling and reproducing the Patent Motorwagen after his wife, Bertha, proved the viability and use case when she made a 66-mile journey that started in Mannheim, Germany, and ended in her maternal hometown. Bertha wasn't alone; her two sons accompanied her in seats mounted to the front wheel. She made the return trip just a few days later, stopping at stores along the way to purchase ligroin.

But more than the Patent Motorwagen itself is everything that's come after, from Henry Ford mass-producing the Model T to the countless trips to the Hot Wheels aisle at Target. It all started here, and it's not hard to see why. Crude and simplistic as it may be today, the Patent Motorwagen was revolutionary when it debuted. For the equivalent of several thousand dollars today, you could have a mode of transport that didn't require constant attention and feeding.

Slow as it is, the Patent Motorwagen is thrilling to drive. It's charming in its own simplicity. Maybe it's because you can see it all working, but there's a surprising directness to the inputs. It's all there in the open, including much of the engine. Poke your head down there and you can watch parts move up and down, oil dripping as it all turns in motion. You can see exactly how the steering and drive gear work. Nothing is hidden.

Edmunds says

It may not look, feel or drive all that much like a modern automobile, but the importance of the Benz Patent Motorwagen cannot be overstated. This is it. The first real car. It's not hard to see why it took off.

Reese Counts has worked in the automotive industry since he started as an intern at Edmunds in 2015. He has written or edited thousands of car-related articles and tested and reviewed hundreds of vehicles over the course of his career. Reese is a vehicle test editor at Edmunds and has also contributed to Autoblog. Reese has also been featured on Yahoo! Finance, Engadget and AOL reviewing cars and covering automotive technology, auto shows and more. Reese learned to drive in his father's C4 Chevrolet Corvette and now owns his grandfather's 1999 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG. A love for cars runs deep in his family.

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1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen Replica | The Guyton Collection | RM Sotheby's

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1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen Replica

The Guyton Collection

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$39,200 USD | Sold

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• Exacting re-creation of first Benz model
• The essence of pioneer motoring
• Suitable for static museum display

It is generally recognized that Carl Benz is the father of the internal combustion motor car. Certainly, he was the first to market a successful automobile, although its sales success would come initially in France. By the close of 1885, Benz had produced a single-cylinder, four-stroke gasoline engine and fitted it to a three-wheel carriage designed specifically for his engine. This first Benz had two driven rear wheels powered by a horizontally mounted single-cylinder engine that developed 3/4 hp, and a speed of eight mph was recorded on one of the very first test runs.

Although somewhat primitive in design, the Benz Motorwagen incorporated many innovative features, like electric ignition, a mechanically operated inlet valve, and a differential gear. Benz patented his car on 30 January 1886, and that spring, it was seen on the streets of Mannheim. Throughout 1886 and 1887, Benz further developed his design, making his first sale in 1887.

The 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen offered here is an exacting replica produced by John Bentley Engineering in the UK. Considered the most authentic and painstaking recreation of the first working Benz design, these vehicles were made between 1986 and 1997. Bentley and his team were granted access to the original Benz in preparation for the project, and the rendition was so faithful that Daimler-Benz acquired the final group of cars.

This example was acquired by the Guyton Collection in 2007, from Peter Harper of Warrington, Cheshire, England. It is reported as having been part of the former Donington Collection at the museum founded in 1973 by the late Thomas Wheatcroft, prior to his re-establishing a race course at the site in 1977. It is believed to be one of the early Bentley-built cars.

The car is presently inoperable, as a large section of the water jacket has separated, requiring significant repair. It is in other ways intact and presents well as a fascinating display of motoring at its earliest.

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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.

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.

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.

Back to overview

From the first automobile to electric cars: The company's history.

1886 - 1920

Beginnings of the automobile: the predecessor companies

The Benz Patent-Motorwagen – The First Car in History

In the mid-1880s, a man called Karl Benz changed the world forever when he created his first prototype of a three-wheeled gasoline-powered motor carriage. This motor carriage was of course the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, widely considered to be the first car ever made.

In this article we are going to be covering the complete history and specifications of the Benz Patent-Motorwagen. We have also included information on other attempts to make the first automobile.

Table of Contents

The History of the Benz-Patent Motorwagen

The history of the first automobile starts with the man behind it, Karl Friedrich Benz. He was born on 25 November 1844 in Mühlburg and he originally took an interest in locksmithing. However, Benz eventually followed in his father’s footsteps and turned towards studying locomotive engineering.

Benz graduated from the Karlsruhe Polytechnikum (University of Karlsruhe) in 1864, and soon after began his engineering career in Mannheim designing scales for Karl Schenck. The work at Schenck wasn’t exactly engaging for the bright and inventive Benz, and he decided to move to Pforzheim to build bridges for the firm of Benckiser Brothers

During his period at Benckiser, Benz met his future wife, Cäcilie Bertha Ringer. At the time, both Benz and Bertha had no idea that she would play a major role in his future inventions and the future of the automotive industry.

Following their engagement, Benz teamed up with August Ritter to launch a new machine shop in Mannheim. Unfortunately, the first year of business went very badly for Benz. Ritter proved to be unreliable and the business’s tools were impounded.

This prompted Bertha to borrow against her dowry so Benz could buy out Ritter’s stake in the business. Following this, the business was given the name Eisengiesserei und mechanische Werkstätte (Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop).

Troubles continued throughout the 1870s, however, a project that Benz started in the latter part of the decade would change their lives forever. This project was of course Benz’s first two-stroke engine. After many disappointments and failures, the engine was finally finished in December 1879 and he was granted a patent for it on 28 June 1880.

Benz stated, “The more it hums, the more it enchants the pressing worries away from my heart,”. The two-stroke design had been his only choice, as he had been prevented from producing a four-stroke engine due to a patent granted to Nikolaus August Otto in 1877.

Around 1881, Benz took on new partners to help finance his company, Emil Bühler, a successful local photographer and Emil’s brother. Benz was responsible for producing his stationary engines, while Emil looked after the sales and marketing side of the business. Unfortunately, Emil hired a salesman by the name of Otto Schmuck, who wound up spending more money than he raised.

The small company then had to hastily apply for a loan from banks in Mannheim. The first requirement of the loan was that Benz had to form a corporation. Thus in October 1882, Gasmotoren Fabrik Mannheim was created with a nine-member board of directors.

While things did improve for the company, Benz was unhappy. He clashed with all of the investors over a number of different designs, with the most notable being his plans for a small engine to power a motor driven carriage. When he revealed his plans for the motor carriage, some of the investors even questioned his sanity!

In 1883, Benz decided to resign from the company. He wrote, “During those days when disaster struck on the sea of life, only one person was waiting by my side. That was my wife. Fearless and courageous, she hoisted up new sails of hope.”

The Benz-Patent Motorwagen

Benz’s fortunes changed when his lifelong hobby of cycling brought him to a bicycle repair shop in Mannheim, where he met Max Kaspar Rose and Friedrich Wilhelm Eßlinger. The three decided to work together and they formed a new company known as Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik ( Commonly referred to as Benz & Cie) .

The new company grew quickly with its primary trade being the production and sales of Benz’s stationary engine. With strong income, Benz could work on some of his old passions and projects, with the main one being a horseless carriage design.

However, he had one small problem. His current range of engines were too big and heavy for the self-powered carriage design. A solution to this problem was provided by a local fire in Mannheim. The fire had started when a bowl of benzene that was used to clean work gloves was ignited by a spark.

Benz believed that the highly volatile fluid could be used to power an engine, as long as its explosion could be controlled. He decided to put his mind to the problem and soon came up with the trembler coil system. This advanced new coil system used a spark plug, which he designed himself.

Unbeknownst to Benz, others were working on a similar project. Daimler and Maybach had come to the same conclusions as the inventor and they were working on building a motor carriage as well. Interestingly, neither of them new of the other’s existence.

Benz gave a great deal of thought to the layout of the self-powered wagon. He considered both four and three-wheeled designs, and ultimately decided to go with a tricycle configuration as it was lighter and overall more manoeuvrable.

Steering was carried out by a toothed rack that pivoted the unsprung front wheel. Fully elliptic springs were used at the back along with a beam axle and chain drive on both sides.

Instead of manufacturing the wheels from wood like on most carriages of the time, Benz decided it would be better to use steel spoked wheels with solid rubber tyres that were inspired by those on bicycles.

A four-stroke 954 cc single cylinder engine was placed horizontally at the rear of the three-wheeler with an enormous flywheel just underneath it. The engine produced just 2/3 of a horsepower (500 watts) at 250 rpm, however, later tests by the University of Mannheim showed it to be capable of 0.9 horsepower (670 watts) at 400 rpm.

The Motorwagen also featured a simple belt drive system that acted as a single-speed transmission and evaporative cooling was used rather than a radiator. Body panels were manufactured from wood, while the frame was crafted out of steel tubing.

The initial trial of the Motorwagen was in the autumn (fall), however, things didn’t exactly go according to plan. On the initial start the Motorwagen stalled and then when it was restarted the drive chain snapped.

Undeterred, Benz made several improvements to his creation and he was ready for another test a couple of weeks later. This time he had Bertha by his side and the engine was started by one of his assistants.

After engaging the chain drive, Benz proceeded to drive the Motorwagen straight into the brick wall of his workshop, making this not only the first but also the shortest road test in history.

For his next tests, Benz found a bit more space. At this point he still had not created a fuel tank for his Motorwagen. To solve this problem, he enlisted the help of his son Eugene who ran alongside the Motorwagen with a can of fuel during the tests.

With the initial tests out of the way, Benz applied for a patent for his Motorwagen, which he received on 29 January 1886 (Patent DRP-37435: “automobile fuelled by gas”). Benz was granted the patent as his design was regarded as the first automobile entirely designed in a way to produce its own power.

While the patent for his Motorwagen was approved, Benz was still hesitant to begin production of his invention. His testing had been limited to the road and area surrounding his workshop, and he was unsure how the Motorwagen would deal with longer distance trips. The answer to this question was not answered by Karl Benz himself, but his wife Bertha.

Bertha Benz’s Historic Long-Distance Drive

In August 1888 Bertha decided that it would be a good idea to “test drive” the second Motorwagen prototype on a long-distance journey from Mannheim to her hometown of Pforzheim, a distance of more than 80 km (50 miles).

Bertha took her two sons, Eugene and Richard with her and she left a note for her husband informing him of her plans. The three left at dawn passing through Heidelberg and Wiesloch before arriving at their destination. When Bertha and her sons arrived, her farther was extremely happy. She wrote, “Father was so happy, we had finally achieved our goal,”.

The trip was a mostly uneventful affair apart from the fact that nobody had seen a motor-powered carriage before, which meant that large crowds formed wherever they went. The also made a quick stop at Heidelberg for lunch and then at Wiesloch to fill the radiator and purchase some fuel (benzene). This would make the Weisloch pharmacy the first filling station in the world, a fact that they still pride themselves on today.

While the whole trip went surprisingly smoothly, Bertha did encounter a couple of problems with the Motorwagen along the way. The first problem was a clogged fuel line, which she tackled with her hairpin. The ignition wire then short-circuited, so she had to make an insulator out of one of her garters. The third and final problem was the brake block, which she had fitted with a new piece of leather in Bauschlott.

Bertha and her two sons arrived in Pforzheim just as the sun was setting. In doing so, they had completed the very first long-distance trip in a motor car. The trip not only proved to Karl Benz that his invention was usable, but also to his sceptics and those who believed that the automobile had no future.

Without Bertha and her sons daring drive, Messrs. Benz & Cie (what the company would later become known as) would not have grown into the largest automobile manufacturer of the time. The drive changed the way the world viewed automobiles and it is arguable one of the most important historical moments in the history of the car.

Following Bertha’s historic drive, Benz produced a third improved version of the Motorwagen. As per his wife’s suggestion, he added a low gear for hills as during their journey they had to push the automobile up every steep incline.

This new model also came with a slightly more powerful 2 hp (1.5kW) engine that could reach a maximum speed of 16 km/h (10 mph). In comparison, the Model 2 Motorwagen had a 1.5 hp (1.1 kW) engine.

By the end of 1888, Benz’s third generation Motorwagen was ready and on the road. However, competition from the traditional horse and buggy proved to be higher than Benz expected.

Part of the problem with the Motorwagen was that it needed fuel. The benzene fuel for the car was not readily available in most places and at this point fuel stations had not yet been conceived. Horses on the other hand required hay and other forms of food/water, which were plentiful.

To try and ramp up sales, Benz displayed the Model 3 Patent Motorwagen at the Munich Engineering Exposition in 1888. He offered test drives to anyone interested in the car. This strategy caught the attention of the press. One newspaper wrote, “Seldom, if ever, have passersby in the streets of our city seen a more starting sight.”

Another publication stated “…without any sign of steam or other visible means of propulsion, human or otherwise, the vehicle proceeded on its way without difficulty…It was followed by a great crowd of breathless pedestrians.”

Karl Benz was given a gold medal for his Motorwagen at the exposition, however, the recognition did not translate into sales. One year later, Benz’s first sales agent, French importer Emile Roger, displayed the Motorwagen at the Paris version of the Exposition. Despite this, sales continued to be little more than a trickle.

By 1892 things were starting to look up for Benz. He had sold almost a dozen Motorwagens and several more were on order. The models produced from 1886 to 1889 were powered by a single-cylinder engine with capacities ranging from 1045 cc to 1990 cc. With an increase in displacement came an increase in power, with later models producing as much as 3 hp at 500 rpm.

In 1893 Karl Benz developed and patented the double-pivot steering system. This was a massive leap forward for the inventor and solved one of the automobile’s most serious issues. The steering system was first used on the 3 horsepower, four-wheeled Victoria that was introduced in 1893. The model was a big hit when it launched with 85 units being sold in 1893 alone.

Another model known as the Velo was introduced for the next year and it became known as the world’s first true production car. Benz’s company produced around 1,200 units of the Velo during its production run and it would be entered in the world’s first automobile race, the 1894 Paris to Rouen.

Benz & Cie would go on to become the biggest automobile manufacturer in the world. By 1889 they were producing over 572 cars and had as many as 430 staff. Tough times came during the 1920s when rapid inflation hit the German economy hard.

The company had to merge with Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG), becoming known as Daimler Benz. Follow this, the first Mercedes-Benz brand name vehicle was produced, and the rest is history as they say.

Karl Benz’s Main Competitors

Benz’s main competitor in Germany was Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG). Founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach, it was first based in Cannstatt and then later in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, and then finally in Berlin (although other factories were scattered around Germany).

DMG was developing their own version of the automobile around the same time as Benz. However, while they would beat Karl Benz in creating the world’s first four-stroke engine, they would not sell a vehicle until August 1892.

In 1890, Émile Levassor and Armand Peugeot of France began producing vehicles with Daimler engines. This would make them one of the first companies/groups to produce a vehicle.

One year after the launch of their first car Auguste Doriot and his Peugeot colleague Louis Rigoulot completed the longest trip by a gasoline-powered vehicle when their self-designed and built Daimler powered Peugeot Type 3 completed 2,100 km (1,300 miles) from Valentigney to Paris and Brest and back again.

While the first automobile design in the United States would be created in 1877 by George Seldon, it would take until 1893 for the first running car to be produced. The first public run of the Duryea Motor Wagon took place on 21 September 1893, on Taylor Street in Metro Center Springfield.

In Britain, there had been a number of attempts during the 19th century to build steam automobiles with Thomas Rickett even attempting a production run in 1860. The first gasoline-powered motor vehicle was produced in 1894 by Santler from Malvern, however, this was just a one off.

The first production vehicles in Britain came from the Daimler Company, a company founded by Harry J. Lawson in 1896, after he purchased the rights to use the name of the engines.

Other Attempts at Self-Powered Vehicles

Below you can find some of the other self-powered vehicle attempts that came before the Benz Patent-Motorwagen.

Ferdinand Verbiest’s Steam-Powered Vehicle (1672)

The first recorded steam-powered vehicle was designed and possibly built by Ferdinand Verbiest, a Flemish member of a Jesuit mission in China around 1672. It was created as a toy for the Chinese Emperor at the time and was just 65 cm in length. Due to its small size it was not intended to carry a driver or passengers. It is not known if the model was successfully built or run.

Nicholas-Joseph Cugnot’s Steam Powered Tricycle (1769)

This steam-powered tricycle was built in about 1769 and is widely regarded as the first full-scale, self-propelled mechanical vehicle. Cugnot also produced two steam tractors for the French Army, however, his inventions were plagued by water supply and steam pressure problems.

Richard Trevithick’s Puffing Devil (1801)

In 1801, Richard Trevithick created and displayed his Puffing Devil road locomotive. The Puffing Devil is believed to be the first true steam-powered road vehicle. Unfortunately, despite his ingenuity, Trevithick’s vehicle was unable to maintain steam pressure for long periods of time and was essentially useless for getting from A to B.

Gustave Trouvé’s Electric Powered Car (1881)

In November 1881, French inventor Gustave Trouvé displayed the first working car powered by electricity at the International Exposition of Electricity in Paris. To create his three-wheeled electric car, Trouvé improved the efficiency of a small electric motor from Siemens and combined it with the recently developed rechargeable battery.

While the electric tricycle was successfully patented on April 19, Trouvé failed to get a patent for the design. Following this he decided to apply his knowledge to marine propulsion.

History of the Motorwagen Video

If you like this article make sure you check out our video version below.

From his early days playing the original Gran Turismo and with his Hot Wheels car set, Ben has had a long interest in all things automotive. His first foray into the world of automotive journalism was way back in 2009 and since then he has only grown more interested in the industry. Ben also runs and heads up the video production side of Garage Dreams, focusing on small informative documentaries about some of the world's most legendary cars.

View all posts

7 thoughts on “The Benz Patent-Motorwagen – The First Car in History”

This is one of the most complete and accurate histories of the Benz automobile. It is much more detailed that the article on the Daimler-Benz webiste.

The author, researchers and editor are to be commended.

Hi Alex, thanks for your kind comment – it is much appreciated. We are releasing a video on YouTube shortly on this subject; keep an eye out for it too.

Ditto Alex’s comment…an exemplary article and video. Now, for the question of the day: I’ve been searching everywhere on line for an English translation of Benz’s Patent-Motorwagen, Modell 1, Patentschrift Nr. 37435 documentation, but to no avail. Any suggestions?

Hello Mike, unfortunately I couldn’t find a translation myself when doing this article and the video. The number 3 car is in the science museum in London so I wonder if they have a translation (or Mercedes themselves may have one). If you do manage to find it we would be interested to have a look.

I just bought a 1:8 scale used model of a Benz Motorcar and is missing the drive belt. Can anyone supply information to help me make and install this belt.

I’ve ordered a cyber truck and looking to customized a wrap. Thinking of slogan “we’ve come a long way” and a looking for an old black and white photo of horses and 1st car ever built such as this.

Thanks for commenting John, cars sure have come a long way – that much is for certain.

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1886 Daimler Motorized Carriage

Daimler’s first engine, which he built together with his long-standing congenial companion Wilhelm Maybach, was a horizontal four-stroke single-cylinder unit. It soon replaced by the so-called grandfather clock, a vertical, considerably smaller engine which was perfectly suitable for installation in vehicles. This engine saw the first use of the float carburetor developed by Maybach, a type nowadays referred to as a surface carburetor, which made reliable operation with gasoline possible.

Installing the engine in a coach was the next step in the summer of 1886. Still air-cooled but now with an output of 1.1 hp, the engine was centrally located, in front of the rear bench seat, to produce the world’s first gasoline-powered, four-wheel car. In 1887 the engine became water-cooled but still lacked an efficient radiator.

The crucially new feature of this vehicle was its power transmission. Depending on the chosen ratio the engine’s belt pulley drove discs of different sizes on a layshaft. The power was transferred to gears on the rear wheels via pinions on both sides. Instead of a differential a slip clutch was mounted on each side of the layshaft.

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 1886 Daimler

Its engine is a naturally aspirated petrol, 0.5 litre, 1 cylinder with 2 valves per cylinder. This powerplant has an output of 1.1 bhp (1.1 PS/0.8 kW) of power at 650 rpm. The power is transmitted to the wheels via a 2 speed manual gearbox. Quoted kerb weight is 290 kg. The Daimler is said to be able to attain a top speed of 18 km/h, or 11 mph. Full specs

1886 Daimler specifications

Daimler auto insurance tips.

Some car insurance will be cheaper if you take a per-usage option, sometimes called pay-per-mile. You need to factor in your driving patterns before opting for pay-as-you-go auto insurance.

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