History of Petrol Powered Motorised Vehicles & Motor Cars

6.1 Early Petrol Powered Motorised Vehicles

• France: In 1863 Jean Joseph Etienne Lenior (Belgian, naturalized French) fitted a 1.5 hp petrol fuelled internal combustion engine that he had built in 1862 to an experimental three-wheeled wagon.

• In 1863 he successfully completed several journeys around Paris.

• It is considered by many to be the first public roadworthiness demonstration of a spark-ignition, petroleum fuelled, motorised vehicle.

• Austria: In about 1870 the German-Austrian inventor Siegfried Marcus assembled and tested an experimental four-wheeled motorised cart.

• To the basic craft, which had no seats, steering, clutch or brakes, he fitted a petrol fuelled, two-stroke, single cylinder internal combustion engine that he had developed.

• Because the vehicle had no clutch the rear wheels had to be lifted clear of the ground before the engine could be started.

• In 1888/89 a "Second Marcus Car" was built. It was powered by a 1 hp, four-stroke engine and included many of the features that were missing in Marcus’ first vehicle.

• There are reports that this car existed in 1875 but evidence to support this claim has not been found.

• United States: In 1877 George Baldwin Selden designed the first car in America to be fitted with a petrol powered internal combustion engine.

• He applied for a patent in 1879 but did not build the vehicle until 1905.

• France: In 1884 Edouard Delamare-Deboutteville and Leon Malandin built and patented a vehicle that consisted of a four-stroke, liquid fuelled engine mounted on an old four-wheeled horse-drawn cart.

• The engine contained many innovations that were well ahead of its time, including pistons with rings, exhaust muffler, etc.

• The vehicle was not a success and there was no real evidence that it was ever driven.

6.2 The First Purpose Built Car Powered by an Internal Combustion Engine

• It is generally accepted that the three-wheeled motor car invented in Germany by Karl Benz in 1885 which he built and tested in 1886, is the world's first purpose built car powered by an internal combustion engine.

• Benz was granted a patent (DRP No. 37435) for his vehicle dated 29 January 1886.

• The car he built was called the “Benz Motorwagen” and was powered by a 954 cc 4 stroke, petrol fuelled engine.

• It was a purpose built motor car, rather than the conversion of a stagecoach, cart, wagon or boat.

6.3 Early Important Petrol Powered Cars

• Germany: In 1886, seemingly without knowledge of the work being carried out by Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach fitted a petrol powered four-stroke engine, that Daimler had designed, to a horseless carriage.

• The engine was an enlarged 1.5 hp version of his “Grandfather Clock” engine that he had patented in 1885 and which operated at the then high speed of 600 rpm.

• The vehicle achieved a speed of 16 kph (10 mph).

• In 1889 Daimler built two purpose designed motorcars.

• France: In 1890, one year after producing his first steam powered vehicle, Armand Peugeot produced a four-wheeled car powered by a Daimler petrol fuelled internal combustion engine.

• Six years later, in 1896, Peugeot started to build and fit his own engines to his cars.

• United States: In 1891 John Lambert invented and tested a three-wheeled petrol powered runabout of his own design.

• It is believed to be America's first petrol powered motor car.

• In about 1896 he started to produce a four-wheeled version.

• In 1891 Henry Nadig also built a petrol powered car.

• United States: In 1892, two brothers, Charles and Frank Duryea began building a car. They used a horse drawn buggy, to which they fitted a 4 hp single cylinder petrol powered engine.

• In September 1893 J Frank Duryea sucessfully tested the car, travelling 200 feet (61 meters) at about 7.5 mph (12 kph).
  
  

• This car, Duryea’s "Ladies Phaeton",  is considered to be America’s first successful petrol powered car.
  
  

• In 1895 a second Duryea car, driven by Frank,  won the Chicago Times-Herald race, travelling a distance of  54 miles (86 km).

• United States: By 1893 Henry Ford had produced a petrol powered engine. In 1896 he built his first car and later that year he sold his first car - the “Quadracycle”.

• In 1898 he formed the Detroit Automobile Company, building a few prototypes but no production cars. In 1901 the company was dissolved. 

• France: In about 1894, Albert de Dion produced a single cylinder, petrol fuelled engine of 137 cc, which ran at the unheard of speed of 3,000 rpm.

• It was fitted to a three-wheeled bicycle based frame and put on the market in 1896 with the engine enlarged to 185 cc. Two years later, in 1898, de Dion produced a four-wheeler, which remained in production until 1902.
  
  

• Britain: Around 1894 the British Santler Brothers fitted a single cylinder petrol engine to their four-wheeled car.

• It was possibly the first petrol powered car made in Britain.

• In 1901 they produced a two seater vehicle, which was later converted to four seats.

• Belgium: Alexis Vivinus started to build cars in 1895.

• His first cars were belt-driven voiturette (small car) models with 785 cc single cylinder petrol powered engines.

• France: Between 1896 and 1931 Léon Bollée built petrol powered cars.

• Léon was a son of Amédée Bollée Sr., who started building steam powered cars in France in 1873.

• Leon's first car was a three-wheeled tandem. It was powered by a single-cylinder 3 hp petrol fuelled engine.
  
  

• Another brother, Amédée Bollée Jr, built petrol powered cars between 1896 and 1913.

• France: In late December 1898 the French Renault brothers, Louis, Marcel and Fernand, sold their first car, the four-wheeled, two-seater “Renault Voiturette 1CV”.

• It was designed by Louis Renault and powered by a single cylinder De Dion-Bouton (French), 273 cc petrol fuelled engine.

• The car had a top speed of 32 kph (20 mph) and could carry two people. In 1900 Renault introduced a four-seater model.

• In 1906 a Renault AK 90CV car won the first ever motor car Grand Prix.

• Italy: The Fiat Company was founded in 1899. The name stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Car Factory of Turin).

• The first Fiat car was built in 1899 and was fitted with a petrol powered, rear mounted, 3 hp engine.
  
  

• It had four seats and was steered by a tiller-like mechanism. In 1901 Fiat fitted steering wheels to their cars.

6.4 The First Purpose Built Petrol Powered 4 Wheeled Cars

• In 1889 Gottlieb Daimler built the world's first known purpose built four-wheeled car.

• It was powered by a high speed, water cooled, petrol fuelled four-stroke engine that he had designed. The vehicle also had axle-pivot steering.

• In about 1893 Karl Benz built a four-wheeled car.

• The vehicle was called the “Viktoria” and was  powered by a 3 hp petrol powered four-stroke engine that Benz had designed. It had a top speed of 18 kph (11 mph).