In the annals of human innovation, few inventions have reshaped society as profoundly as the automobile. This transformative technology, granting unprecedented personal mobility, owes its genesis to the visionary ingenuity of Carl Benz and his groundbreaking creation, the Benz Patent Motorwagen. On January 29th, a date that resonates through automotive history, we commemorate the 1886 patent of this revolutionary vehicle, marking 120 years since the formal recognition of an idea that liberated travel from the constraints of rails and the limitations of horsepower. Carl Benz, a German engineer with unwavering resolve, dared to imagine a world unburdened by fixed routes and schedules, and in doing so, ignited the spark of the automotive age with his Benz Patent Motorwagen.
The definitive origin of the automobile, propelled by the then-nascent internal combustion engine, can be pinpointed to 1885. It was in this year that Carl Benz, a name now synonymous with automotive excellence, inaugurated his modest workshop in Mannheim. Within its confines, he brought to life his vision of personal transportation, test-driving a three-wheeled carriage around the workshop yard. This wasn’t merely a whimsical experiment; it was the tangible manifestation of years of dedicated engineering, powered by a single-cylinder engine designed and built entirely by Benz himself. While the gasoline engine itself wasn’t a novel concept in 1885 – large stationary versions were already powering industries and farms, a field in which Benz himself had been a pioneering force – his genius lay in miniaturization. Benz’s innovation was the conception of a compact, single-cylinder engine, a feat of engineering that unlocked the possibility of the motorized carriage, a phenomenon that would forever alter the course of personal transportation.
Bertha Benz and her sons, Eugen and Richard, are depicted in a recreation of their historic journey from Mannheim to Pforzheim, showcasing the pioneering spirit of early motoring.
Having successfully built and tested his initial single-cylinder, three-wheeled prototype, Carl Benz embarked on the crucial step of securing his intellectual property. He applied for a patent, a formal declaration that would establish him as the originator of the gasoline-powered motor carriage design. This endeavor culminated in the granting of German patent number 37435 to Benz on January 29, 1886, a date now etched in automotive lore. Shortly after, Gottlieb Daimler and his associate Wilhelm Maybach also sought patents for their own designs, but history unequivocally recognizes Benz’s priority and the Benz Patent Motorwagen as the first of its kind.
Carl Benz’s journey to automotive innovation was rooted in a solid engineering foundation. A graduate of the Karlsruhe Polytechnikum, he began his career in Mannheim, initially designing scales for Karl Schenck. However, the constraints of scale design proved unfulfilling for the ambitious young engineer. Seeking greater challenges and opportunities to apply his skills, Benz relocated to Pforzheim to join Benckiser Brothers, a firm specializing in bridge construction. This role, involving projects of significant scale and societal impact, resonated more deeply with Benz’s engineering aspirations.
The Benz Patent document, officially recognizing the 1886 Motorwagen as history’s first automobile, marking a pivotal moment in transportation.
It was during his time at Benckiser that Carl Benz’s personal life took a transformative turn. He met Cäcilie Bertha Ringer, a vivacious and determined young woman of 20. Their connection deepened, culminating in a marriage proposal at the Harmony social club in Pforzheim in 1870. Bertha, though unaware at the time, was destined to play an extraordinary role, not only in Carl’s life but also in the yet-to-be-written history of the automobile. Her inherent vigor, decisive nature, and unwavering support would prove to be instrumental in navigating the challenges and uncertainties that lay ahead for her fiancé and his groundbreaking invention.
Following their engagement, Carl Benz ventured into entrepreneurship, partnering briefly with August Ritter. They established a machine shop in Mannheim, but financial headwinds soon threatened the fledgling business. Ritter’s departure, prompted by the need for further capital, created a critical juncture. It was at this moment that Bertha demonstrated her unwavering belief in Carl and his vision. Drawing upon her dowry, she provided the necessary funds for Carl to acquire Ritter’s share, ensuring the survival of the firm. This pivotal act of faith and financial support marked a turning point, and the business was subsequently renamed Eisengiesserei und mechanische Werkstätte (Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop), setting the stage for Benz’s future innovations.
Carl Benz is pictured steering the enhanced 1887 Benz Patent Motorwagen model, showcasing the tiller steering system and optional features like a folding top.
However, establishing a business and achieving sustained success proved to be distinct challenges for the newly married Benz couple, who wed in July 1872. The early years were marked by personal milestones, with the births of their sons Eugen and Richard in 1873 and 1874, followed by daughters Clara and Tilde in 1877 and 1882. Yet, consistent business success remained elusive until 1880, when Carl unveiled his first stationary engine. This “embryonic two-stroke engine,” as Carl Benz termed it, finally came to fruition on New Year’s Eve 1879 after numerous trials, setbacks, and periods of hardship. For the first time, his engine operated smoothly and reliably. This breakthrough was a watershed moment for Bertha and Carl, a beacon of hope amidst their struggles. “The more it hums, the more it enchants the pressing worries away from my heart,” Carl noted on that significant evening, capturing the profound relief and optimism the engine’s success brought. The choice of the more complex two-stroke design was not arbitrary; Benz had been restricted from pursuing the four-stroke engine due to a patent held by Nikolaus August Otto since 1877.
Around 1881, seeking to bolster the business’s financial standing, Carl brought in Emil Bühler, a successful local photographer, as a partner. Benz focused on engine development, while Bühler took charge of sales and marketing, hiring Otto Schmuck as a sales agent. Unfortunately, Schmuck’s promotional spending outpaced revenue generation, pushing the fledgling company towards financial strain. To secure a loan, local bankers stipulated that Benz must first incorporate the business. Consequently, in October 1882, Gasmotorenfabrik Mannheim was established with a nine-member board of directors.
Detailed views of the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen’s rear, illustrating the two-stroke engine, substantial flywheel, tiller steering, hand-lever braking, and chain drive system.
Regrettably, harmony within the newly formed board proved ephemeral. Within three months, disagreements arose, particularly concerning Benz’s vision for a small engine to power a motor carriage. Some board members openly questioned Benz’s judgment, deeming his automotive aspirations unrealistic. By the fall of 1883, Carl Benz resigned from the company. Reflecting on this challenging period, Carl wrote, “During those days when disaster struck on the sea of life, only one person was waiting by my side. That was my wife. Fearless and courageous, she hoisted up new sails of hope.”
Undeterred in his ambition to build a motorized wagon and with Bertha’s unwavering support, Benz found new financial backers in Max Kaspar Rose and Friedrich Wilhelm Esslinger, two prosperous businessmen who recognized the potential in his vision. Together, they jointly financed the creation of Benz & Cie., Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik on October 1, 1883. Remarkably, less than a month after departing from Gasmotorenfabrik Mannheim, Carl Benz was back in business, pursuing his automotive dream.
An interior close-up of the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen, showcasing the rudimentary controls and carriage-like design of the pioneering vehicle.
The new company’s primary focus was the production and sales of Benz stationary engines, a venture that quickly brought financial success to Benz and his backers. This prosperity provided Benz with the resources and time to dedicate himself to experimenting and developing a suitable engine for his “horseless carriage.”
Having successfully utilized coal gas for his stationary engines, Benz faced the challenge of fueling his smaller motorwagen engine. An accidental fire in Mannheim provided an unexpected clue. Benz observed that benzene, used for cleaning work gloves, ignited readily with a spark. He reasoned that this highly volatile liquid could be harnessed as fuel if the combustion could be controlled and a reliable ignition source developed. His solution was a battery and trembler coil system, coupled with a spark plug of his own design. Unbeknownst to Benz, Daimler and Maybach were independently arriving at similar conclusions, setting the stage for a silent race to build the first motor carriage, with neither party aware of the other’s endeavors.
Benz, along with his partners Rose and Esslinger, were all avid cyclists. While considering designs for his motorwagen, he contemplated both four-wheeled and three-wheeled configurations. However, he consciously moved away from the horse-drawn carriage as a design template. A tricycle layout, with power delivered to the rear wheels via a chain, appeared more logical, simpler, lighter, and easier to steer. This tricycle configuration became the foundational design for the Benz Patent Motorwagen as it began to take shape in 1885.
The two-stroke, single-cylinder engine and substantial flywheel of the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen, illustrating the mechanical heart of this pioneering vehicle.
A two-stroke engine, producing approximately two-thirds of a horsepower at 250rpm, was positioned horizontally at the rear of the three-wheeler, with a large flywheel running perpendicular to the vehicle’s direction. The initial trial run in the fall of 1885 was less than auspicious. Carl Benz’s first motorized wagon sputtered to a halt and, upon restarting, promptly snapped its drive chain.
After implementing minor refinements, Benz prepared for another test run a few weeks later. With Benz proudly at the tiller and Bertha by his side, assistants started the engine by spinning the flywheel. Upon engaging the chain drive, Carl Benz proceeded to steer the Motorwagen directly into the brick wall of his workshop. This incident, though unintended, marked not only the first but also arguably the shortest road test in automotive history.
Subsequent tests involved his son Eugene running alongside the motorwagen, carrying a can of gasoline, as the inventor had yet to incorporate a dedicated fuel tank. With this crucial addition and the patent secured in January 1886, Benz resolved to introduce the motorwagen to the wider world in July 1886, embarking on a journey to make it a household name. He faced a long and uncertain path ahead.
An early advertisement for the Benz & Co. Patent-Motorwagen, showcasing the nascent marketing efforts for this groundbreaking invention.
Still in the developmental phase, Benz remained hesitant to commence full-scale production of his Patent Motorwagen. His testing had been primarily confined to the vicinity of his workshop. While it might be assumed that the inventor would be the first to undertake a long-distance trial, it was Bertha Benz who would etch her name into history as the world’s first motorist. Indeed, the inaugural driver of an automobile was a woman, Bertha Benz.
In the summer of 1888, Bertha decided to put the second prototype Motorwagen to a rigorous test: a journey from Mannheim to Pforzheim, exceeding 50 miles. Accompanied by her sons, Eugen and Richard, she departed at dawn and completed the trip in a single day. She informed Carl of her plans via a note left on the kitchen table, stating they were “traveling to Pforzheim to visit Grandma,” and upon arrival, wired him to confirm their safe arrival without any significant incidents. Even Bertha’s father expressed his delight, noting that they had “finally achieved our goal.”
Bertha’s journey was largely uneventful in terms of major breakdowns, but it was far from unnoticed. The sight of a motor carriage was unprecedented, and the three-wheeler attracted considerable attention in every village they passed through. They paused in Heidelberg for refreshments and in Wiesloch at an apothecary to replenish the radiator’s water and purchase benzene for fuel. This apothecary, still operating today, proudly proclaims itself as “the world’s first filling station.”
An illustration depicting Bertha Benz and her sons stopping at the apothecary in Wiesloch, famously recognized as the world’s first filling station, during their pioneering journey.
En route, they encountered minor mechanical issues, which Bertha ingeniously resolved. A clogged fuel line was cleared using her hatpin, and a short-circuited ignition wire was insulated with a garter. The only other mechanical intervention was replacing the worn leather brake block with a new piece fitted by a farrier in Bauschlott. They reached Pforzheim as dusk settled. Bertha Benz’s 50-mile journey was a resounding success, demonstrating the motorcar’s practicality to her husband and dispelling the doubts of many skeptics. Her daring initiative and the decisive impetus it provided were instrumental in propelling Messrs. Benz & Cie. to become, for a time, the world’s largest automobile manufacturer.
While an improved Model 3 was being prepared for exhibition in Munich, Bertha suggested a crucial enhancement: a low gear for hill climbing, as they had been forced to push the car uphill on steeper inclines during their inaugural journey. By the year’s end, the refined Benz Model 3 motorwagen was on the road, though commercial success was still on the horizon.
Overcoming the entrenched dominance of the horse and buggy was a significant hurdle. Like horses, motorwagens required fuel. However, while hay was readily available, gasoline (benzene) was scarce. In the late 19th century, the concept of a gas station was nonexistent. Benzene had to be purchased in small quantities from apothecaries, typically in volumes of five liters or less. The world was not yet fully prepared for the Benz Patent Motorwagen, and significant sales wouldn’t materialize until 1892. Nevertheless, Carl and Bertha Benz remained committed to their vision.
A 1986 reproduction of the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen, displayed against a backdrop recreating Carl Benz’s workshop at the Los Angeles County Museum of History, commemorating the invention’s centennial.
In September 1888, Benz showcased the Model 3 Patent Motorwagen at the Munich Engineering Exposition, offering test drives to interested attendees. A local newspaper described the Benz’s Munich debut: “Seldom, if ever, have passersby in the streets of our city seen a more startling sight.” Another publication remarked, “…without any sign of steam or other visible means of propulsion, human or otherwise, the vehicle proceeded on its way without difficulty…It was followed by a great crowd of breathless pedestrians.”
The year 1888, known in German history as the Year of the Three Emperors, was a period of significant global events. Heinrich Hertz confirmed the existence of electromagnetic waves, Fridtjof Nansen traversed Greenland on skis, European railways reached Constantinople, and world exhibitions were held in Barcelona, Melbourne, Moscow, and Sydney. Carl Benz returned from Munich with a Gold Medal from the Exposition, but not with a substantial order book. A year later, Benz’s first sales agent, French importer Emile Roger, exhibited the Patent Motorwagen at the Paris Exposition. By the end of 1892, sales had reached almost a dozen, with more orders in hand. The “production” models from 1886 to 1889 were powered by single-cylinder engines ranging from 1045cc to 1990cc, with power output increasing from 1.5 to 3 horsepower at 500rpm. A total of 25 units were manufactured during this period.
Carl Benz pictured in a 1892 Benz Victoria model during a Munich celebration in 1925, reflecting on his enduring legacy. He passed away in 1929 at the age of 85.
In 1892, Benz & Cie. introduced the more advanced four-wheeled Viktoria model, followed in 1894 by the Velo (velocipede), which was produced until 1900. If a race existed to produce the first commercially successful motorcar in Germany, Benz crossed the finish line with the Velo, the first truly mass-marketed horseless carriage in Europe. The Velo was succeeded by the Benz Ideal and a rapid succession of new models, establishing Benz & Cie. as one of the world’s leading automakers by 1900, with over 1,250 motorcars sold since 1887. By this time, Carl Benz faced increasing competition from Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Maybach, located just 60 miles away in Cannstatt, and from other emerging automobile manufacturers across Europe and the United States.
Thanks to Carl Benz and an idea initially deemed “insane” by some, humanity has traversed the globe on rubber wheels for over 120 years. The Benz Patent Motorwagen, born from relentless innovation and unwavering belief, stands as a testament to the power of human ingenuity and the dawn of the automotive age.
By Dennis Adler © Car Collector Magazine, LLC. (Click for more Car Collector Magazine articles) Originally appeared in the January 2006 Issue
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