by On January 29, 1886, the first car with an internal combustion engine was born. To be precise, exactly 134 years ago, it officially received patent No. 37435. The car named Benz Patent-Motorwagen is considered the first commercially available and successful car with an ICE.
Externally, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen closely resembles a 3-wheeled bicycle with one steerable front wheel and two rear driving wheels. This is no coincidence, as Benz was a cyclist and engineer by trade.
The design of the power unit of the first car included a single guide intake blade, one vertical exhaust valve, and a spray carburetor (designed by Benz) with a capacity of 4.5 liters, where the fuel was stored. As for the chassis, it was a frame made of steel tubes.
It was this car (but the third in the series) that Benz’s wife (Bertha Benz), along with her children and unbeknownst to her husband, drove 200 km (previously, the car had covered only short distances), thereby playing the role of a marketer and PR specialist in one. This journey vividly demonstrated to people the value of a self-propelled machine and the freedom of movement it provides (after this, Benz received an order for 25 cars). Moreover, Bertha essentially invented the low gear.
