An illustration of Karl Benz’s Patent Motorwagen, the first road vehicle with an internal combustion engine.

A restored version of the three-wheeled Motorwagen

The Motorwagen’s 4-stroke engine that ran on gas and used a water cooling sytem.

Did you know that it was Karl Benz, founder of Mercedes-Benz, who made the first internal combustion engine for a road vehicle?

The vehicle, which he named Motorwagen, ran on gas and had a 4-stroke combustion system. Its engine had a 958cc displacement and produced 0.75 horsepower. Running with electric ignition and an evaporation type of cooling system, the Motorwagen was a three-wheeled vehicle and patented on January 29, 1886.