Benz (replica) 1885

Built in 1885 and patented in 1886, Karl Benz’s Motorwagen had many clever features: It was lightweight and had a four-stroke gas engine, rack steering, and steel spoke wheels.

Benz Motorwagen

Although many automotive pioneers helped to shape the modern car, only Karl Benz actually “invented” it. His “Motorwagen” was made official in 1886, after his patents were registered. However, his spindly three-wheeler, with its single-cylinder, four-stroke internal gas combustion engine, spluttered into life on the roads of Mannheim, Germany, the previous year.

By a stroke of coincidence, Canstatt engineer Gottlieb Daimler had also designed a “high-speed” internal combustion powerplant in 1885. His motor ran on gas, but he chose to install it in a primitive motorcycle for demonstrations. Many years later, in 1926, the Daimler and Benz companies merged to form Mercedes-Benz.

Yet there is no record of Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler ever having met (the latter died in 1900). Furthermore, their approaches to self-propelled vehicles were contrasting. Apart from the different fuels used initially, Benz was not, at first, as progressive as his rival whose hot-tube ignition system better suited a mobile engine with its own portable supply of spirits.

Built in 1885 and patented in 1886, Karl Benz's Motorwagen had many clever features
Built in 1885 and patented in 1886, Karl Benz’s Motorwagen had many clever features

Daimler’s first car-like prototype

Daimler’s first car-like prototype of 1886 also provided the additional wheel that most car drivers quickly came to expect. On the other hand, Benz put an improved version of his tiller-steered tricycle on sale in 1888 (no regular production Daimler was on sale until 1892). Moreover, by 1893, his newly-designed Benz Velo became the world’s first production car. A transportation revolution was beginning.

Howarth filmed the adventure for a memorable UK TV series, and orders consequently poured in. This basic concept worked but, with the 2CV and its engine soon to be axed, Howarth tried to design his own. This engineering was way beyond him (and his budget), yet he still accepted deposits for cars-talking grandly of production plants from Bangladesh to Botswana. By 1988, Africar was bankrupt.

Although many automotive pioneers helped to shape the modern car, only Karl Benz actually "invented" it. His "Motorwagen" was made official in 1886
Although many automotive pioneers helped to shape the modern car, only Karl Benz actually “invented” it. His “Motorwagen” was made official in 1886
Benz (replica) 1885Specification
YEAR REVEALED1885
PLACE OF ORIGINMannheim, Germany
HISTORICAL STATUSprototype
ENGINEsingle-cylinder, 58ci (954cc)
MAXIMUM POWER0.9bhp
LAYOUTrear-mounted engine driving the rear wheels
BODYWORKnone
TOP SPEED10mph (16kph)
NUMBER BUILTfive
Table specification Benz (replica) 1885
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