The automobile, which has become one of the icons of American culture, was actually born in Germany. Karl Benz is generally acknowledged as the inventor of the automobile and was the first to receive a patent on the gasoline internal combustion engine and the automobile.
Karl Friedrich Benz was born in what is now Germany in 1844. At the age of 15 he entered the University of Karlsruhe to study mechanical engineering. He graduated at the age of 19 and then spent seven years of professional training in several companies. At the age of 27 he joined August Ritter in starting the Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop (later named Factory for Machines for Sheet-metal Working).
The partnership with Ritter did not go well and the venture was saved when Bertha Ringer, Benz’s fiancé, bought out Ritter’s share of the company. Karl Benz and Bertha Ringer were married in 1872.
Bertha Benz is shown above.
In 1878, Benz began to concentrate his efforts on developing a reliable gasoline two-stroke engine and in 1879 he was granted a patent for his new design. Other patents soon followed for the speed regulation system, the ignition using spark plugs with battery, the spark plug, the carburetor, the clutch, the gear shift, and the water radiator.
While Benz was busy obtaining patents for his inventions, the company needed money to survive. In 1882, the banks forced them to incorporate and Benz found himself with only 5% of the new company’s stock. He grew frustrated when his ideas weren’t considered in designing new products, so he left the corporation in 1883.
As a student, Benz had acquired a love for bicycles and he had dreamed of designing a horseless carriage. With two acquaintances from a bicycle repair shop, Benz & Cie was founded in 1883 for the purpose of producing industrial machines. He then set out to adapt bicycle technology to create the automobile.
In 1885, Benz created his first automobile, which featured a four-stroke engine he had designed. The engine was placed between the rear wheels and transmitted to the rear axle with roller chains. The Benz Patent Motorwagen was patented in 1885 as an “automobile fueled by gas.” While others had simply motorized an existing carriage, Benz had designed an automobile which is why he was granted a patent and is regarded as the inventor of the automobile.
Shown above is the 1885 Benz.
Shown above is a replica of an 1886 Benz which is on display at the Montana Auto Museum.
Shown above is the engine in the Motorwagen.
It should be pointed out that other German engineers had also been working on the concept of the automobile and the internal combustion engine at this time. Gottlieb Daimler and his business partner Wilhelm Maybach had created a small gasoline engine which they used to create a motorcycle in 1885 and in 1886 they used the engine to power a stagecoach. There is no indication, by the way, that Benz knew about Daimler’s work at this time.
The first Motorwagen proved difficult to control and Model 2, introduced in 1887, had several modifications. In 1888, the Motorwagen became commercially available to the general public. The initial Motorwagen in 1888 had no gears and was not able to climb hills.
Bertha Benz, without the knowledge of her husband and without permission of the authorities, took off in a Motorwagen in 1888 and made a 106 kilometer (66 miles) trip to visit her mother. She took two of her sons (ages 13 and 15) with her. During this trip she repaired various technical and mechanical problems. She used a long, straight hatpin to clean a fuel pipe and a garter to insulate a wire. After some long downhill slopes, she invented brake lining when she had a shoemaker nail some leather on the brake locks. Her intention, in addition to visiting her mother, was to demonstrate to the public that the automobile could be used for long-distance travel.
In 2008, the Bertha Benz Memorial Route was officially approved. It follows Bertha Benz’s route of the world’s first long-distance automobile journey.
Karl and Bertha Benz are shown above.
In 1889, the Benz Model 3 made its debut at the Paris World’s Fair. Between 1886 and 1893, 25 Motorwagens were built. In 1893, the two-passenger Victoria was introduced. It had a top speed of 11 mph (18 kmh). A total of 85 were sold during the first year. In 1899, Benz produced 572 automobiles, making it the largest automobile company in the world.
An 1894 Benz Velo is shown above.
When you get two people with automobiles together, a discussion about speed may follow and that, of course, sets the stage for a race. The world’s first officially recorded automobile race was held in 1894. The course, from Paris to Rouen, covered 126 kilometers (78 miles). The Benz automobile did not do well: it finished fourteenth with an average speed of nearly 8 miles per hour (nearly 13 kilometers per hour).
In 1895, Benz designed the first truck and some of these were later modified into buses (shown above) by Netphener.
In 1896, Karl Benz designed and patented the first flat engine which featured horizontally opposed pistons. Flat engines, also known as horizontally opposed engines, are commonly called boxer engines when they have four or fewer cylinders. This design is currently used by Subaru, Porsche, and in BMW motorcycles.
For many people today, the name Benz is preceded by the name Mercedes. So, who was Mercedes? To answer this we have to go to Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft (DMG) and its designer Wilhelm Maybach. Emil Jellinek, often described as a wealthy entrepreneur, sat on the DMG board from 1900 to 1909. Jellinek asked Maybach to design a revolutionary sports car for him. Jellinek stated:
“I don't want a car for today or tomorrow, it will be the car of the day after tomorrow."
Jellinek wanted the new car to be suitable for high speeds and have a lower risk of overturning. This meant it would have a long wheelbase, a lower center of gravity, and an engine located on the car’s chassis. Furthermore, he wanted the car named Mercedes after his daughter. In 1900, the first Daimler-Mercedes was delivered. In 1901, the new car reached a speed of 37 miles per hour (60 kilometers per hour) at the races in Nice.
Benz countered the Daimler-Mercedes with the Parrsifil which was introduced in 1903. Then, without consulting Benz, the company’s directors hired French designers for its new cars. As a result, Karl Benz retired from design management, but remained on the Board of Management until the company merged with DMG in 1926, forming the new Daimler-Benz Corporation whose cars were named Mercedes Benz.
In 1906, Karl Benz and his son Eugen formed C. Benz Sons as a private company to produce automobiles. Their cars became popular in London as taxis. In 1912, Karl Benz left the family-held business and liquidated his shares in C. Benz Sons. The company continued to produce cars until 1923.
Karl Benz died in 1929 and Bertha Benz in 1944.