Benz Patent Motor Car No. 1 1886: the Birth of the Automobile
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Benz Patent Motor Car No. 1 1886: the Birth of the Automobile DaimlerChrysler AG, Stuttgart COM/CL 1676-0012•02-01/1203 Printed in Federal Republic of Germany/Imprimé en Republique Fédérale d’Allemagne www.mercedes-benz.com The world’s first motor vehicle was a three-wheeler. “The motorized velocipede of Benz has almost one horsepower” In its edition of June 4, 1886, Neue Badische Landeszeitung (a newspaper for the Baden region in southwest Germany) wrote: “It should be of great interest for friends of the velocipede sport to learn that great progress The writer of this article may have been Benz Patent Motor Car No. 1 The vehicle rattling along Mannheim’s has been made in this field with a new invention by the local company Benz & Cie. This a “friend of the velocipede sport” himself – With the stationary two-stroke gas engine Ringstraße on July 3, 1886 was the dream company ... currently manufactures a three-wheeled velocipede; the latter is driven by an committed, like so many others, to the he had developed in 1879/80, Karl Benz of an inventor, designer and passionate engine the design of which is comparable to that of a gas engine. The engine, which has a popular sport of cycling at the time. However, had earned so much money that from 1883, visionary come true: the Benz Patent Motor cylinder width of nine centimeters and is mounted on springs above the axle between the he must also have been a farsighted person he was able to concentrate more intensive- Car No. 1. two wheels at the rear, develops almost one horsepower despite its rather delicate appear- because he realized the opportunities in- ly on realizing his dream: a motorized road- ance, and runs at 300 revolutions per minute. This means the vehicle can reach the speed herent in the invention of a vehicle powered going vehicle. Right from the start, he had of a normal passenger train. ... The entire vehicle is not much larger than an ordinary by a lightweight engine. On July 3, 1886, the been thinking in terms of an engine being tricycle and makes a highly appealing and elegant impression. There is no doubt that this same journalist wrote: ”A velocipede powered fully integrated in a chassis and quite motorized velocipede will soon attract a large number of friends since it can be expected that by ligroin gas (gasoline), designed and built consciously discarded the idea of the sort it will prove to be extremely practical and useful for doctors, travelers, sportsmen and others.” by Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik Benz & Cie. of motorized carriage Gottlieb Daimler and the subject of a report some weeks ago, built at the same time. Daimler had the was tested this morning on Ringstraße and vision of driving every conceivable vehicle the tests are said to have been satisfactory.” and appliance with his high-speed engine. 2 3 time. The engine was – and still is – start- sides, running from the countershaft ed by courageous and vigorous turning to the rear wheels which in turn were of the flywheel. The fact that the gasoline attached to the frame by means of a rigid filling in the carburetor did not permit axle and fully elliptic springs. longer distances to be covered, did – and does – not bother anyone driving the The world’s first automobile did not yet Ahead of his time Benz Patent Motor Car. The ingenious feature a transmission with two or more propulsion system of this vehicle consum- speeds, nor did it have a reverse gear. ed as much as ten liters of gasoline – Instead, a single speed was made available The engine regarded as dangerous at the time – on on the countershaft in the form of a fixed The heart of the vehicle was a single-cylin- completely satisfied with the 250 revolutions 100 kilometers. drive disc with integrated differential; der four-stroke engine with a displacement of his first four-stroke engine – this speed next to it an idle disc was fitted. Thanks of 0.954 liters – and it already had some of was, after all, twice as high as that of his to the idle disc, the flat belt between the major features that still rank among the two-stroke gas engines. Other features worth Chassis and bodywork engine and countershaft was capable of basic elements of combustion engines today: mentioning in conjunction with the engine The frame was made of bent and welded doubling as a clutch. For starting off, the a crankshaft with counterweights, electrical included its weight which, at around 100 kilo- steel tubing. Since the car was to have flat belt was simply moved from the idle ignition and water cooling. According to grams, was very low by the standards of the rear-wheel drive, i.e. to be pushed from to the fixed disc. Road speed was adjusted Benz’s measurements, it developed two- time, as well as the cylinder with an open behind, Karl Benz was faced with the prob- by means of the sleeve-type sliding thirds of a horsepower at 250 revolutions crankcase, an intake slide valve controlled lem of steering which had to differ from control under the driver’s seat. per minute (measurements at Stuttgart via an eccentric rod, an exhaust poppet valve, that of a pulled vehicle. Hence, the fifth- Technical University at a later stage record- operated via camshaft, rocker arm and push wheel steering customary on carriages The coolant reservoir was mounted on top ed as much as 0.9 hp at 400 rpm). Benz was rod, and lubrication by means of drip oilers. Benz designed a flywheel that was to be had to be dispensed with – which is why of the engine. The vehicle was decelerated fitted horizontally in the chassis since he Benz rather spontaneously decided in by means of a manually operated lever feared that the gyroscopic effect of a verti- favor of a three-wheeler. The front wheel acting on the countershaft belt pulley – cally mounted flywheel would adversely was suspended in an unsprung fork and there was no foot-operated brake. The affect the vehicle’s steerability and road- steered by a toothed rack that was connect- bench seat was mounted on elegantly holding in tight corners. ed to a crank. (It was not before 1893 that curved springs directly on the frame, in Benz invented his double-pivot steering, front of the engine, and covered with For mixture preparation, Benz developed one of the most important milestones perfectly finished and stitched leather, a surface carburetor which doubled as in automotive design.) as befitting a thoroughbred roadster. a reservoir for 1.5 liters of gasoline. The Passengers were supported by low precise composition of the fuel/air mix- Benz also manufactured the wire spoke railings with leather upholstery at the ture was adjusted by a sleeve-type slide wheels with solid rubber tires himself – back and sides. control that covered the bores in the addi- only the rims were “outsourced”. As tional intake duct to a greater or lesser customary in vehicle construction at the The chains were a source of concern. In extent, thereby controlling power output. time, the front wheel was running in a his memoirs, Karl Benz wrote: “The chains This slide control was fitted within easy ball bearing, the rear wheels in tinplate were highly inadequate; most of them reach underneath the driver’s seat. bushings. The vehicle was driven with were too soft and therefore elongated one chain each on the left and right-hand excessively, came off the gearwheels or Benz had several goes at the ignition broke in tests. Since there were no better until he came up with a solution that was ones, however, I had to make ends meet matched to the low output of contemporary with the material that was at my disposal.” batteries. He used a Ruhmkorff induction coil to transform the electricity to a higher voltage. The spark plug was his own design, too. Investigations at a later stage revealed that the material used for the spark plugs’ electrodes was largely identi- cal with that of commercially available spark plugs in the 1930s. Cooling the combustion engine posed a particular problem because unlike a sta- tionary engine, a vehicle engine cannot simply be connected to a coolant pipe. Benz opted for a simple evaporator which proved to be quite effective and adequate for the low output levels reached at the 4 5 “Every trial strengthened my confidence, water.” The Benz Patent Motor Car No. 1 but on every outing, I also became familiar soon ended up in a corner of the factory with new hitches of the engine. On the other because Benz built new models in rapid hand, every journey provided me with ideas succession, all based on the experience for improvement so that I was able to apply he had gained. These versions were not for a patent for the car in January 1886 ...” fundamentally new but had more powerful When the first public trial was staged on engines and stronger chassis. Number 2 July 3, 1886, as documented in the above had a 1.5 hp engine, Number 3 boasted 2 newspaper article, Benz’s son Eugen ran hp. The latter had a power-to-weight ratio alongside the car carrying a bottle of gaso- of just 42 kilograms per hp and with its The vision becomes reality line “to fill up the car should it run out of 500 rpm, it was the first lightweight high- fuel.” This indicates the great fear people speed engine from Benz. From 1887 it was had at the time concerning the inflamma- installed in an improved version of the For reasons of secrecy, the first trials were staged in the factory bility of gasoline in a vehicle.