Cars are the modern means of transport. Have you ever wondered who invented the car and how these fantastic machines came into being? We in this article will discuss the invention of cars. The invention can be dated back to 1886. The modern car that we use today was invented by a German inventor named Karl Benz.

What he designed was a motorised wagon that could replace the vehicles that were pulled by animals. When Karl Benz invented the car it was quite expensive. The technology was such that only the rich could afford it. The wife of Karl Benz named Bertha Benz was the first person who drove a car.

History of Car Invention

Before Karl Benz some more attempts were made. Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot created a steam propelled tricycle. He did this in 1769. Then Richard Trevithick in 1801 built a vehicle that was propelled by a steam engine. However, the vehicle could not go for long distance so it was discontinued.

Many more names appeared in this list of those who contributed to the invention of cars. However, it was Karl Benz who is given the credit of inventing the modern car. His invention was also granted a patent in 1879. The only problem that Benz’s cars had was that they were too expensive. Some also doubted that the invention was not road worthy. This is exactly why the wife of Karl decided that she will go on a road trip to prove the road worthiness of the invention.

The First Automobile

The first automobile car that was launched in the European market was made by a Czech company Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau. The car was named Tatra later. A company named Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft was the first company in the world to sell an automobile. It was in the year 1892. The name of the brand was Daimler and it was horse drawn. By 1895 the company was able to sell thirty such vehicles.

After the death of Daimler his partner designed a vehicle that was fitted with a steam engine. He named this engine Daimler-Mercedes. By 1902 the engine was modified to such an extent that it could generate 35 hp. Karl Benz and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft collaborated in the year 1924 and the collaboration lasted till 2000. They together revolutionised the car market in the world. They invented ways of producing better vehicles that would cost lesser. They created the most successful automobile brand history had ever seen. The brand was called Mercedes Benz

Who Invented The First Gasoline Powered Car?

The automobiles manufactured by the company slowly entered all the international markets including Asia. The gasoline powered automobile engines were launched in 1877. This again brought a whole new change in the way cars were used.

The gasoline powered engines were fasters and more efficient. This was done by the George Selden of Rochester, New York. Selden was given a patent for his remarkable invention in1879. It took him sixteen long years to get the patent. He finally got the patent in the year 1895.

His patent was challenged by the famous Henry Ford. In the year 1893 the first gasoline powered car was made in the United States. The credit of this invention was given to the Duryea brothers of Springfield, Massachusetts. They bought a horse drawn wagon and fitted it with an engine that was run by gasoline. Interestingly this historic car was in storage and was later given to the United States national museum in 1920.

Contributions by Region

Most of the contribution in the field of the invention of cars goes to United States and Europe. The United Kingdom did try to make their contributions too. However, they could not contribute much into this. Not until 1894 when an engineer from the United Kingdom came up with petrol powered car. In 1892 German inventor Rudolf Diesel was the first to come up with the diesel engine. He built the first diesel engine that could propel cars.

This article touches almost all the aspects of the invention of cars. The history of how a car evolved is interesting and long. Almost every day a new addition is done to the technology that helps us is designing cars. We just tried to pick the most important turning points for our readers.