The Benz Patent-Motorwagen ("patent motorcar"), built in 1885 by the German Karl Benz, is widely regarded as the world's first practical modern automobile[1][a] and was the first car put into production.[8] It was patented and unveiled in 1886. The original cost of the vehicle in 1886 was 600 imperial German marks,[9] approximately 150 US dollars (equivalent to $4,900 in 2022).
Two years after Karl Benz first drove the car in July 1886,[10] Karl's wife Bertha demonstrated its feasibility in a trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim in August 1888, shortly before it became the first commercially available automobile in history in the late summer of 1888.[11]
Due to the creation of the Patent-Motorwagen, Karl Benz has been hailed as the father and inventor of the automobile.[1][12][13]
Development, specifications and Karl Benz's first drive
Benz Patent-Motorwagen Nr. 1 used in Karl Benz's first trip in 3 July 1886The Benz Patent-Motorwagen Nr. 3 of 1888, used by Bertha Benz for the first long-distance journey by automobile (106 km (66 mi) long)
After developing a successful gasoline-powered two-strokepiston engine in 1873, Benz focused on developing a motorized vehicle while maintaining a career as a designer and manufacturer of stationary engines and their associated parts.
The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was a motor tricycle with a rear-mounted engine. The vehicle contained many new inventions. It was constructed of steel tubing with woodwork panels. The steel-spoked wheels and solid rubber tires were Benz's own design. Steering was by way of 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. A simple belt system served as a single-speed transmission, varying torque between an open disc and drive disc.
The first Motorwagen used the Benz 954 cc (58.2 cu in) single-cylinder four-stroke engine with trembler coil ignition.[14] This new engine produced 500 watts (2⁄3 hp) at 250 rpm in the Patent-Motorwagen, although later tests by the University of Mannheim showed it to be capable of 670 W (0.9 hp) at 400 rpm. It was an extremely light engine for the time, weighing about 100 kg (220 lb). Although its open crankcase and drip oiling system would be alien to a modern mechanic, its use of a pushrod-operated poppet valve for exhaust would be quite familiar. A large horizontal flywheel stabilized the single-cylinder engine's power output. An evaporative carburettor was controlled by a sleeve valve to regulate power and engine speed. The first model of the Motorwagen had not been built with a carburettor, rather a basin of fuel soaked fibers that supplied fuel to the cylinder by evaporation.
The vehicle was awarded the German patent number 37435, for which Karl Benz applied on 29 January 1886. Following official procedures, the date of the application became the patent date for the invention once the patent was granted, which occurred in November of that year. Benz unveiled his invention to the public on 3 July 1886, on the Ringstrasse in Mannheim. For the first time Karl Benz publicly drove the car on July 3, 1886 in Mannheim at a top speed of 16 km/h (10 mph).[15]
Benz later made more models of the Motorwagen: model number 2 had 1.1 kW (1.5 hp) engine, and model number 3 had 1.5 kW (2 hp) engine, allowing the vehicle to reach a maximum speed of approximately 16 km/h (10 mph). The chassis was improved in 1887 with the introduction of wooden-spoke wheels, a fuel tank, and a manual leather shoe brake on the rear wheels.
About 25 Patent-Motorwagen were built between 1886 and 1893.
Bertha Benz, Karl's wife, whose dowry was said to have made a portion of contribution to finance the development of the Patent-Motorwagen,[16] was aware of the need for publicity. She took the Patent-Motorwagen No. 3 and drove it on the first long-distance internal combustion automobile road trip to demonstrate its feasibility. That trip occurred in early August 1888, when she took her sons Eugen and Richard, fifteen and fourteen years old, respectively, on a ride from Mannheim through Heidelberg, and Wiesloch, to her maternal hometown of Pforzheim.[17]
Official signpost of Bertha Benz Memorial Route
In Germany, a parade of antique automobiles celebrates this historic trip of Bertha Benz every two years. On February 25, 2008, the Bertha Benz Memorial Route,[18] following the route of Benz's journey, was officially approved as a Tourist or Scenic Route by the German authorities as a route of industrial heritage of mankind. The 194 km (121 mi) of signposted route leads from Mannheim via Heidelberg to Pforzheim (Black Forest) and back.
In media
Working replica of the 1885 Benz Motorwagen in Frankfurt, 2007
Wilhelm Maybach, designed engines starting in the 1870s–80s; first motorbike (1885), second internal combustion car (1889)
Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer, pioneer of internal-combustion engines and automobile development (1870s and on)
Notes
^Before Karl Benz patented his Motorwagen in 1886, several inventors were working on automobiles powered by steam engines; in 1769, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built the first steam-propelled vehicle.[2] During the 1870s, Bollée created several steam vehicles which could carry passengers for road trips.[3] Steam cars have, however, been characterized by various authors as "distinctly uncommercial",[1] "unsafe",[4] and "difficult to manage".[5] According to automotive historian G. N. Georgano, earlier steam vehicle experiments and innovations such as the stationary Otto engine helped make the invention of the Benz Motorwagen possible, which he labelled as "the first motorcar" due to its commercial production.[6] The company Mercedes-Benz also acknowledge there were forerunners to the Motorwagen, but also state that Benz was the first to develop "a "horseless carriage" into a product for everyday use, which he then brought to market and as a result made his idea useful for the entire world".[7]
References
^ abcParissien, Steven (2014). The life of the automobile : the complete history of the motor car. Internet Archive. New York, N.Y. : Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press. pp. 2–5. ISBN978-1-250-04063-3.
^"Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
^Lavergne, Gérard (1902). The Automobile: Its Construction and Management. Cassell. p. 17.
^Frey, Carl Benedikt (2020). The Technology Trap: Capital, Labor, and Power in the Age of Automation. Princeton University Press. p. 166. ISBN9780691210797.
^Bailey, Diane (2015). How the Automobile Changed History. ABDO. p. 28. ISBN9781629697666.
^Georgano, G. N. (1985). Cars, 1886–1930. Beekman House. pp. 9, 16. ISBN9780517480731.
^"Forerunners to the automobile". Mercedes-Benz Group. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
^ [The fight over the birth of the modern automobile] (in German). German Patent and Trade Mark Office. 2014-12-22. Archived from the original on 2017-01-02.
^Neil, Dan (2006-06-21). "Before the Rumble Seat". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
^"Carl Benz and the Invention of the Automobile". 29 January 2018.
^von Fersen, Olaf (2013). Ein Jahrhundert Automobiltechnik: Personenwagen (in German). Springer-Verlag. p. 10. ISBN9783642957727.
^Derry, Thomas Kingston; Williams, Trevor Illtyd (1960). A Short History of Technology from the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900. Courier Corporation. p. 393. ISBN9780486274720.
^. Daimler AG. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
^"Frauen in der Geschichte des Rechts – Von der Frühen Neuzeit bis zum Gegenwart", Ute Gerhard e.a., Beck'se Verlagsbuchhandlung, München 1997, ISBN3-406-42866-5, p. 464
^MercedesForum (8 May 2011). "Making of 'Carl & Bertha' (Film)". Archived from the original on 2021-12-14 – via YouTube.
^Bertha Benz Memorial Route (German-government-approved non-profit official site)
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benz Patent Motorwagen.
Patent 37435, by Karl Benz for his 1885 Motorwagon The birth certificate of the automobile – the German patent application of January 29, 1886, that was granted on November 2, 1886 to Benz & Company in Mannheim
benz, patent, motorwagen, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, j. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Benz Patent Motorwagen news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2011 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Benz Patent Motorwagen patent motorcar built in 1885 by the German Karl Benz is widely regarded as the world s first practical modern automobile 1 a and was the first car put into production 8 It was patented and unveiled in 1886 The original cost of the vehicle in 1886 was 600 imperial German marks 9 approximately 150 US dollars equivalent to 4 900 in 2022 Benz Patent MotorwagenBenz Patent Motorwagen Nr 1OverviewManufacturerRheinische Gasmotorenfabrik Benz amp Cie known today as Mercedes Benz Production1886 1893PowertrainEngine1 0L 954cc single cylinder engine 2 3 hp Ligroin ChronologySuccessorBenz VeloTwo years after Karl Benz first drove the car in July 1886 10 Karl s wife Bertha demonstrated its feasibility in a trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim in August 1888 shortly before it became the first commercially available automobile in history in the late summer of 1888 11 Due to the creation of the Patent Motorwagen Karl Benz has been hailed as the father and inventor of the automobile 1 12 13 Contents 1 Development specifications and Karl Benz s first drive 2 Bertha Benz s trip 3 In media 4 See also 4 1 Early developments essential to the development of automobiles 4 2 Car and car engine designers chronologically by first vehicle engine built 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksDevelopment specifications and Karl Benz s first drive Edit Benz Patent Motorwagen Nr 1 used in Karl Benz s first trip in 3 July 1886 The Benz Patent Motorwagen Nr 3 of 1888 used by Bertha Benz for the first long distance journey by automobile 106 km 66 mi long After developing a successful gasoline powered two stroke piston engine in 1873 Benz focused on developing a motorized vehicle while maintaining a career as a designer and manufacturer of stationary engines and their associated parts The Benz Patent Motorwagen was a motor tricycle with a rear mounted engine The vehicle contained many new inventions It was constructed of steel tubing with woodwork panels The steel spoked wheels and solid rubber tires were Benz s own design Steering was by way of 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 A simple belt system served as a single speed transmission varying torque between an open disc and drive disc The first Motorwagen used the Benz 954 cc 58 2 cu in single cylinder four stroke engine with trembler coil ignition 14 This new engine produced 500 watts 2 3 hp at 250 rpm in the Patent Motorwagen although later tests by the University of Mannheim showed it to be capable of 670 W 0 9 hp at 400 rpm It was an extremely light engine for the time weighing about 100 kg 220 lb Although its open crankcase and drip oiling system would be alien to a modern mechanic its use of a pushrod operated poppet valve for exhaust would be quite familiar A large horizontal flywheel stabilized the single cylinder engine s power output An evaporative carburettor was controlled by a sleeve valve to regulate power and engine speed The first model of the Motorwagen had not been built with a carburettor rather a basin of fuel soaked fibers that supplied fuel to the cylinder by evaporation The vehicle was awarded the German patent number 37435 for which Karl Benz applied on 29 January 1886 Following official procedures the date of the application became the patent date for the invention once the patent was granted which occurred in November of that year Benz unveiled his invention to the public on 3 July 1886 on the Ringstrasse in Mannheim For the first time Karl Benz publicly drove the car on July 3 1886 in Mannheim at a top speed of 16 km h 10 mph 15 Benz later made more models of the Motorwagen model number 2 had 1 1 kW 1 5 hp engine and model number 3 had 1 5 kW 2 hp engine allowing the vehicle to reach a maximum speed of approximately 16 km h 10 mph The chassis was improved in 1887 with the introduction of wooden spoke wheels a fuel tank and a manual leather shoe brake on the rear wheels About 25 Patent Motorwagen were built between 1886 and 1893 Bertha Benz s trip EditMain article Bertha Benz First cross country automobile journey Bertha Benz Karl s wife whose dowry was said to have made a portion of contribution to finance the development of the Patent Motorwagen 16 was aware of the need for publicity She took the Patent Motorwagen No 3 and drove it on the first long distance internal combustion automobile road trip to demonstrate its feasibility That trip occurred in early August 1888 when she took her sons Eugen and Richard fifteen and fourteen years old respectively on a ride from Mannheim through Heidelberg and Wiesloch to her maternal hometown of Pforzheim 17 Official signpost of Bertha Benz Memorial RouteIn Germany a parade of antique automobiles celebrates this historic trip of Bertha Benz every two years On February 25 2008 the Bertha Benz Memorial Route 18 following the route of Benz s journey was officially approved as a Tourist or Scenic Route by the German authorities as a route of industrial heritage of mankind The 194 km 121 mi of signposted route leads from Mannheim via Heidelberg to Pforzheim Black Forest and back In media Edit Working replica of the 1885 Benz Motorwagen in Frankfurt 2007The car can be driven in the video game Gran Turismo 4 and Android video game Driving Legends The Car Story It was also driven by Sherlock Holmes s sister Enola in the film Enola Holmes See also EditHistory of the automobile Benz Velo later 4 wheel model List of Mercedes Benz vehicles incl summary of Benz vehicles List of motorcycles of the 1890s List of motorized trikes Three wheelerEarly developments essential to the development of automobiles Edit Nicolas Leonard Sadi Carnot physics of the internal combustion engine Illuminating gas first internal combustion engine fuel Ligroin or heavy naphtha first liquid automotive fuel n hexaneCar and car engine designers chronologically by first vehicle engine built Edit Nicolas Joseph Cugnot 1725 1804 French inventor of the world s first automobile a 1769 1770 steam fuelled vehicle Etienne Lenoir developer of the first atmospheric gaseous fueled internal combustion engine and automobile 1860 1863 pioneer of electroplating Nicolaus Otto developer of the first successful compressed charge gaseous fueled internal combustion engine 1860s 70s Siegfried Marcus developed petrol powered internal combustion engine vehicles 1864 1870 1888 Wilhelm Maybach designed engines starting in the 1870s 80s first motorbike 1885 second internal combustion car 1889 Gottlieb Daimler German engineer pioneer of internal combustion engines and automobile development 1870s and on Notes Edit Before Karl Benz patented his Motorwagen in 1886 several inventors were working on automobiles powered by steam engines in 1769 Nicolas Joseph Cugnot built the first steam propelled vehicle 2 During the 1870s Bollee created several steam vehicles which could carry passengers for road trips 3 Steam cars have however been characterized by various authors as distinctly uncommercial 1 unsafe 4 and difficult to manage 5 According to automotive historian G N Georgano earlier steam vehicle experiments and innovations such as the stationary Otto engine helped make the invention of the Benz Motorwagen possible which he labelled as the first motorcar due to its commercial production 6 The company Mercedes Benz also acknowledge there were forerunners to the Motorwagen but also state that Benz was the first to develop a horseless carriage into a product for everyday use which he then brought to market and as a result made his idea useful for the entire world 7 References Edit a b c Parissien Steven 2014 The life of the automobile the complete history of the motor car Internet Archive New York N Y Thomas Dunne Books St Martin s Press pp 2 5 ISBN 978 1 250 04063 3 Nicolas Joseph Cugnot Encyclopaedia Britannica Retrieved 22 October 2022 Lavergne Gerard 1902 The Automobile Its Construction and Management Cassell p 17 Frey Carl Benedikt 2020 The Technology Trap Capital Labor and Power in the Age of Automation Princeton University Press p 166 ISBN 9780691210797 Bailey Diane 2015 How the Automobile Changed History ABDO p 28 ISBN 9781629697666 Georgano G N 1985 Cars 1886 1930 Beekman House pp 9 16 ISBN 9780517480731 Forerunners to the automobile Mercedes Benz Group Retrieved 22 October 2022 Der Streit um den Geburtstag des modernen Automobils The fight over the birth of the modern automobile in German German Patent and Trade Mark Office 2014 12 22 Archived from the original on 2017 01 02 Neil Dan 2006 06 21 Before the Rumble Seat Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2020 05 02 https www edn com karl benz drives the first automobile july 3 1886 Carl Benz and the Invention of the Automobile 29 January 2018 von Fersen Olaf 2013 Ein Jahrhundert Automobiltechnik Personenwagen in German Springer Verlag p 10 ISBN 9783642957727 Derry Thomas Kingston Williams Trevor Illtyd 1960 A Short History of Technology from the Earliest Times to A D 1900 Courier Corporation p 393 ISBN 9780486274720 The birth of the automobile Daimler AG Archived from the original on 21 November 2015 Retrieved 1 October 2014 https www edn com karl benz drives the first automobile july 3 1886 Frauen in der Geschichte des Rechts Von der Fruhen Neuzeit bis zum Gegenwart Ute Gerhard e a Beck se Verlagsbuchhandlung Munchen 1997 ISBN 3 406 42866 5 p 464 MercedesForum 8 May 2011 Making of Carl amp Bertha Film Archived from the original on 2021 12 14 via YouTube Bertha Benz Memorial Route German government approved non profit official site External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Benz Patent Motorwagen Patent 37435 by Karl Benz for his 1885 Motorwagon The birth certificate of the automobile the German patent application of January 29 1886 that was granted on November 2 1886 to Benz amp Company in Mannheim Automuseum Dr Carl Benz Ladenburg Heidelberg John H Lienhard on Bertha Benz s ridePreceded bynone Fastest street legal production car19 km h 11 81 mph Succeeded byDaimler Motorized Carriage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Benz Patent Motorwagen amp oldid 1169205595, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
