Who Invented the Automobile?
We have all heard the term “automobile” but do you really know who invented it? The automobile was invented in 1886 by a German engineer named Carl Friedrich Benz. The vehicle he designed had three wheels and a 600cc water-cooled engine. It could reach a top speed of 16km/h. Eventually, other manufacturers joined the fray, including Renault, Daimler, and Maybach. If you know a bit about these companies and their history, you will have a much better idea of who invented the automobile.
Karl Benz
Although Karl Benz is credited with being the inventor of the automobile, there were other innovators before him. Ferdinand Verbiest was a 17th century priest who invented a small self-propelled vehicle. William Murdoch, Goldsworthy Gurney, and Richard Trevithick, all of whom worked on steam carriages in the 18th century, were also important contributors. In addition to Benz, these inventors also improved upon the horse, developing the first gasoline-powered automobile.
Benz had always had an interest in mechanics and engineering, and was able to pursue this passion by taking various jobs in the field of railroads, including locomotives. He studied mechanical engineering at the University of Karlsruhe, and he and his partner August Ritter eventually founded an iron foundry and sheet metal workshop. Benz, who had a fascination with mechanics, began to imagine a fully mechanized vehicle in his dreams while riding his bicycle.
Other inventors were also attempting to create horseless carriages, but Benz’s work was unique because it was built around the engine, instead of simply adding a motor. This approach was eventually rewarded by a patent, and Benz’s automobile was created on January 29, 1886. By the end of the decade, many other manufacturers had surpassed Benz’s initial success. The invention of the automobile has been the subject of many movies, and its history is fascinating.
Daimler
Before the automobile, there was only one type of automobile: the steam engine. These engines were incredibly difficult to manufacture, but Daimler figured out how to build one in a short amount of time. He and his partner, Emil Maybach, came up with an engine that ran at high speeds and was suitable for cars and boats. Eventually, they patented this engine and named it the grandfather clock. The following year, Daimler invented the motorcycle.
A year after the invention of the first car, Benz and Daimler began to build commercial vehicles. In 1897, he signed a secret pact with Ad. Altmann & Co., and the two men worked together to build a motorised vehicle factory in Berlin. The company began making motorised vehicles in February 1899 and sold them to various companies. The new company produced a variety of commercial vehicles and carriage-like passenger cars.
After working as an apprentice for a gunsmith, Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler studied engineering at the polytechnic institute in Stuttgart. Soon after, he joined Nikolaus A. Otto’s company as technical director and began developing a four-stroke internal-combustion engine. The engine’s cylinder design reminded Daimler of a large pendulum clock. Daimler’s vision was to make a road vehicle with this new type of engine.
Maybach
According to history, Gottlieb Daimler invented the automobile in 1903. His invention improved upon the design of a previous one by providing mechanical inlet valves. Maybach also improved the car’s cooling system and introduced a honeycomb radiator, which prevented the engine from overheating. Maybach’s creation was so popular that the Daimler family named their daughter Mercedes, who would go on to become the company’s chief executive.
After the First World War, the German government banned the manufacture of airship and airplane engines, forcing Daimler and Maybach to seek new ventures. Maybach saw a car engine as a design challenge and shifted his focus to it. He began developing automobile engines as early as 1886. Maybach and Daimler also created a motor quadricycle. Their 1889 model has a four-speed gearbox and a two-cylinder V-engine. Maybach and his son continued to refine their design until they patented their first automobile in 1909.
The Maybach family moved to Cannstatt after Gottlieb Daimler left Deutz. Their son Karl attended the local intermediate secondary school, and their family remained there until the Maybachs moved to Friedrichshafen in 1912. The family still works together in the factory, and the Maybachs continue to develop the automobile there. They later sold their company to Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft. Until the First World War, Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH produced around 1800 vehicles, and they later started building engines for military vehicles and tanks.
Renault
Louis Renault was a French automaker who founded the company in 1898. He received twelve orders for his “voiturette” in 1898 and went on to revolutionize the automobile industry with innovations that made it more comfortable for its customers. He also played a major role in the French Resistance during World War I. After World War II, the company was nationalized but became a private company again in the 1990s. In 1990, Renault changed its status from a private company to a public limited company with state capital. The privatization became effective in 1996.
In the 1960s, the company was the sixth largest automobile maker in the world. Sales of the Dauphine had decreased 33 percent by the end of that year. Renault had to adapt to the needs of American motorists. It decided to enter Formula One racing with a turbocharged engine and expand its business operations worldwide. But its efforts to adapt to the needs of the American market were not successful. By the end of the decade, the company had sold out of its original Dauphine model in the U.S., and it was not profitable.
Although Louis Renault was not a famous automaker, he still made his mark. He was a talented young engineer and created several models before partnering with his brothers to form the Renault Automobile Company. The first Renault automobile was the Voiturette, which was bought by a friend of the founding brothers’ father. In 1931, the company began producing tractors and trucks, which were then used for farming and other purposes. He died in 1932, but his name will remain associated with automobile history.
Rene Panhard
Rene Panhard was a French inventor. His motorized vehicle was first built in 1885. It was a four-cylinder, rear-wheel-drive car. Panhard and Levassor designed and built the car. In 1894, Levassor finished 5th in the Paris-Rouen race. That year, the Marquis de Dion won the Paris-Rouen race with his De Dion-Bouton. In 1895, Levassor won the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race. Levassor averaged twenty-four km/h, and he won the Paris-Bordeaux-Paris rally two years later.
The first Panhard car had a front-mounted engine and clutch pedal. A front-mounted radiator was also standard. The first Panhard automobile featured a front-mounted radiator, a transmission with a sliding-gear mechanism, and a steering wheel. The Panhard and Levassor car won numerous races from 1895 to 1903. The car also had a radiator and front-mounted radiator. A Panhard and Levassor catalogue lists a model with a conventional valve engine and one with a sleeve-valve power unit. The Panhard & Levassor firm produced and sold Panhard cars until 1967.
The first Panhard automobile was sold by Panhard et Levassor in 1890, based on a Daimler engine license. Daimler’s friend in France, Edouard Sarazin, was his business partner. When Edouard Sarazin died in 1887, Gottlieb Daimler appointed his widow, Louise, to run his agency. The Levassors and Levassor were friends and collaborated on many improvements.
Emile Levassor
A farmer’s son, Emile Levassor attended the Ecole Centrale in Paris and studied engineering. He went on to join an industrial firm and met Rene Panhard. In 1873, they formed Perin et Panhard, which expanded its engineering operations. In 1886, Levassor and Panhard formed Panhard & Levassor, a company that built engines and cars.
While Levassor is considered the father of the automobile, his wife was a major contributor to its success. Levassor was the first licensee in France for Daimler, and she worked hard to convince skeptics of the car’s value. Her friendship with Gottlieb Daimler helped him gain the license to build his own automobile. They married in 1890. In addition to their marriage, Levassor shared the glory of the car.
During his lifetime, Levassor developed three types of cars: steam, gas, and electric. His first gasoline motorcar, the Panhard Phenix, won the first real automobile race in June 1895. It took Levassor 49 hours to cover the 732-mile course between Paris and Bordeaux. Levassor was an influential figure in motoring, and in the early years of the automobile industry, he campaigned for the repeal of restrictive laws. He also drove the famous Emancipation Run from London to Brighton.
Henry Ford
When the late 1880s came around, Henry Ford became interested in the automobile. He raised funds in 1899 to start the Detroit Automobile Company with $86,000 in seed money. In 1900, he designed his first car, a delivery wagon. The company had a rough start, and by 1899, Ford had no profits and his partners were displeased. By 1920, the company had grown into an industrial complex on the River Rouge in Dearborn, Michigan, with a steel mill, glass factory, and assembly line. The company’s early successes were short-lived, as Ford had to compete with 60 other aspiring automakers.
The Ford Model T became the first mass-produced car. Henry Ford, a Detroit native, produced the car at an affordable price for the masses, which democratized access to luxury goods. His Model T remained in production for more than five decades, but he did not use it in its early stages. As a result, his mass production method changed the way automobiles are made. Ford’s invention is an American classic and a global icon.
Henry Ford’s early attempts at building a car were unsuccessful, but eventually he managed to build a one-cylinder gasoline prototype. Henry Ford’s first car was a crude affair that spewed sputters on the kitchen table. A month later, the model’s development was complete and it was marketed to the public. Ford’s vision was to make cars accessible to the average American. Ford’s mechanical aptitude led him to build racing cars while he was still a teenager. His efforts paid off, and by June 1896, the first automobile was on the road.