Have you ever wondered what the oldest cars in the world are? A quick answer may be the Ford Model T. That is understandable, since one of the few pieces of car history taught in American schools is Henry Ford’s contributions to the mass production of the automobile. Unless you have the desire to delve deep into automotive history, you may not even realize that the internal combustion engine is bit of a johnny-come-lately addition to the automobile, putting the Model T fairly far down the list of oldest car in the world.
1. Cugnot Fardier
At the request of French military officials, French inventor and fortifications expert Nicholas Cugnot designed and built the first self-propelled carriage. The first prototype was built in 1769. Designed to tow artillery to the battlefront, its speed was set at three miles per hour so that soldiers could keep pace with it. It could pull a load of five tons and could operate for one hour and fifteen minutes before stopping. The only known example, pictured above, is on display at the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris, France.
2. Hancock Omnibus
The Hancock Omnibus was built by English inventor Walter Hancock and can be considered the first commercially successful steam-powered vehicle in the world. Where Cugnot’s fardier was a military triumph, Hancock’s Omnibus ran a successful passenger route between London and Paddington. The nine carriages that were built carried an estimated 4,000 passengers between 1832 and 1834.
3. Grenvile Steam Carriage
The Grenvile Steam Carriage | Hemmings
In 1875, Robert Neville Grenville of Butleigh, Glastonbury, Somerset, United Kingdom began designing his steam carriage. It was an era when most cars were built by hand and were extremely expensive to operate. Grenvile’s carriage looks more like a locomotive than a car, but is only capable of carrying seven passengers. One of the passengers had to feed the steam engine to maintain speed — sometimes you have to pay a price to catch a ride! Incredibly, the vehicle ran as recently as 2009.
4. La Marquise
La Marquise | Hemmings
Built in 1884 by De Dion-Bouton et Trepardoux for the Count De Dion, La Marquise is a De Dion et Trepardoux Dos-A-Dos Steam Runabout. It has a claim to fame as having won the first automobile race in 1887. De Dion built its competitor as well. It also has the distinction of being the oldest known running automobile. La Marquise was last sold in 2011, setting an auction record for an early automobile when the gavel fell at $4.6 million. The Sotheby’s listing makes quite an interesting read.
5. 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen
An 1886 Benz Patent Moterwagen | Foter
The Benz Patent Motorwagen is generally acknowledged in car history as the first gasoline powered car. Actually built in 1885, it was not patented until 1886. It was powered by a 954 cubic centimeter single-cylinder engine that created two-thirds of a horsepower. Fuel was supplied to the engine through evaporation initially, but Benz added a rudimentary carburetor in later models. He went so far as to add leather brake shoes in 1887.
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