Who invented the First Car?
The world’s first automobile vehicle was invented by Karl Benz in 1885. It was the first vehicle to have an internal combustion engine fueled by gas.
History of the Automobile
The evolution of cars did not start with this invention. Many people tried to make their own cars, running them on steam. This idea first came to an astronomer named Verbiest, who invented a small vehicle which could run on steam with the help of a ball-shaped boiler. This happened in 1658, almost 200 years before the invention by Karl Benz. The car, only 2 feet long, was supposed to be a toy for the emperor of China.
The 1700s was the time for steam engines. Many steam powered automobiles were built, but they were very heavy and difficult to manage. Till the 1800s there were many inventions with steam powered vehicles, but none of them could become the first self-propelled automatic vehicle.
World’s First Car
Look :
The automobile designed by Karl Benz was just like a horse carriage but without the horses. It generated its own power and stood on three wheels, made from solid rubber. The rear wheels were bigger and heavier than the single front wheel.
Engine :
The engine, weighing only 100 kgs, was installed at the rear of the vehicle. It was a very light engine for those times. The engine output was only 0.75 horsepower compared to today’s vehicles, which have an engine output of more than 400 horsepower. The engine had a basin of fibers soaked in fuel that provided fuel to the engine using the evaporation technique. It also had a valve used as an exhaust.
Other Features :
The vehicle was made of steel and used woodwork for the panels. The steering was like a pivot that controlled the front wheel and its rotational movement into a straight one. The vehicle was awarded the German Patent number 37435- this was the birth certificate of the automobile.
This automobile was difficult to controland it led to a wall collision during its public demonstration. This was called Model number 1 and Benz started working on modifications to improve it.
Benz then invented the Motorwagen Model 3. This vehicle was taken by Benz’s wife Bertha and his two sons on a long distance journey covering 106 kilometers. It was designed to cover 16km/hr with a horsepower of 2HP. With this success, Benz started selling the Benz Patent Motorwagen.
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