Benz Patent Motor Vehicle "Replica" (1886, Germany)

Various countries claim to be the first to produce a gasoline-powered automobile. Although there is room for argument, Germany's Karl Benz is now accorded this distinction with the threewheeler he produced in 1886. The engine, placed over the rear axle, is a horizontal, fourcycle, single-cylinder type was the first automobile equipped with a differential gear.

The small one-cylinder engine of this vehicle was mounted horizontally behind the seat in a frame developed from the prevailing tricycles. Its 0.9 horsepower was transmitted to the rear wheels via belt and chain, enabling a top speed of about 15km/h. A lever connected to a rack-and-pinion controlled the lone front wheel, which steered the vehicle.

Panhard et Levassor B2 (1901, France)

Panhard et Levassor was the first to propose and commercialize an automobile having a layout and structure similar to today's cars. The engine was placed in the front and the gearbox behind drives the rear wheels in the so-called front-engine, rear-drive method, which is known as the System Panhard. Afterward, this became the foundation for automotive technology.

The B2, the origin of the classic front engine, rear wheel drive layout, which was the paradigm that transformed the horseless carriage into the automobile as we know it today. It positioned its transmission in line with the engine and clutch, and had a steering wheel instead of a tiller, and an in-line four-cylinder engine.

|Back|