History of Cars

The first functional steam-powered vehicle was likely designed by Ferdinand Verbiest, a member on a Jesuit mission in China in around 1672, It was around 65 cm in length and was made for the Emperor of China at the time, though it was unable to carry a driver because of it being too small.

  Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is credited  with the building and invention of the first self-propelled vehicle, Karl Benz is generally credited with the invention of the first modern Automobile. His invention though was hampered by problems with water supply and steam pressure.

In 1879, Benz was granted a patent for his first engine, which had been designed in 1878. Around 25 Benz

vehicles were sold in between 1888 and 1893. In 1888 Bertha Benz the wife of Karl Benz took the first road trip by car to prove the worthiness of her husbands invention.

The first design for an American automobile with a petrol internal combustion engine was made in 1877 by George Selden. Though it took 16 years for him to get patent on it . His patent was challenged by Henry Ford in 1911, and overturned.

The first diesel motor was made in 1897 by the German engineer Rudolf Diesel. Steam, eletric, petrol and diesel engines would go on to compete for decades