Today in Engineering History: 1st Gas-Powered Car Patented

First Gas-Powered Automobile Patented

On this day in history, 1886, Karl Benz, a German engine designer and car engineer, applied for a patent for his “vehicle powered by a gas engine.”

The patent – number 37435 – is regarded by some to be the origin of the gas powered automobile. Later that year, in July, newspapers reported on the first public excursion of the three-wheeled Benz Patent Motor Car, model no. 1.

With a rear-mounted single-cylinder four-stroke engine, the two-seat “Motorwagen” was completed in 1885. The engine output was 0.55 kW, and the vehicle included an automatic intake slide, a controlled exhaust valve, high-voltage electrical vibrator ignition with spark plug, and water/thermo siphon evaporation cooling. One of the first test runs recorded a speed of eight mph.

 

A working replica of the 1885 Benz Motorwagen in Frankfurt, 2007. Image credit: Wikipedia Commons/GFDL and Creative Commons

 

On July 3, 1886, the "Neue Badische Landeszeitung” newspaper reported on the public outing of Karl Benz's patented motor car on Ringstrasse in Mannheim, Germany. Image credit: Mercedes-Benz