Karl Friedrich Benz

1844-1929

German Engineer

It is difficult to say who actually "invented" the automobile. In part, this is because it is hard to define what exactly constitutes an automobile. The first self-propelled road vehicle was probably the steam-powered tractor driven in the 1760s by Nicolas Cugnot (1725-1804), a French army engineer who designed it to pull artillery. However, the first person to manufacture and sell liquid-fueled machines similar to what we call cars today was undoubtedly Karl Benz.

Born in Mannheim, Germany, in 1844, Benz shared with his father, one of the early locomotive engineers, a passion for the mechanical sciences. At school he delved into chemistry, the new field of photography, and was especially intrigued by clockworks. In his autobiography he remembered "the marvelous language that gear wheels talk as they mesh with one another."

At age 16 Benz entered a polytechnic school, where he was inspired by efforts to find a more user-friendly substitute for the steam engine. Upon graduation, he was employed by an engineering firm, but found the work unchallenging and left after a short time. Gottlieb Daimler (1834-1900), with whom Benz would later forge the automotive alliance Daimler-Benz in 1926, became the new senior engineer soon after Benz's departure.

In 1871 Benz opened a factory to make what he called "tin working machinery." The business failed financially, due in part to a stock market crash. Undaunted, he borrowed the funds to start a new business, designing and producing an engine for stationary use. This business prospered. His investors didn't mind if he devoted some time to his dream project: a self-propelled vehicle powered more efficiently than the heavy, clumsy steam carriages that had developed after Cugnot's tractor.

Benz put a small engine under the seat of a two-wheeled horse cart, removed the shafts and placed a smaller third wheel at the front, steered by a lever. A local newspaper covered the story: "A velocipede driven by Ligroin gas, built by the Rheinische Gasmotorenfabrik of Benz & Cie. was tested early this morning on the Ringstrasse, during which it operated satisfactorily."

During another, unauthorized, morning test, Benz's wife and two sons "borrowed" the machine for a joyride while papa Benz slept. The trio drove it the astounding distance of 70 miles from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back, having to get out and push on steeper parts.

The machine was proving practical. Improved models in the three-wheel format came along, but Benz was determined to design a four-wheel model that would allow more capacity and greater stability at speed. A big problem involved safely steering two wheels without dragging one mercilessly at every turn. By 1893 he had such a car. He called it the Victoria to celebrate his victory over the tricky steering challenge, not to honor a British queen as is sometimes supposed.

More models followed with different seating arrangements, sizes, and shapes. By 1902 a Benz advertisement showed a front-engine car with a steering wheel rather than a tiller. The ad also highlighted words that sound rather like modern car ads—reliable, fast, durable, elegant.

Then there was trouble in the factory. Both Benz and employee Marius Barbaroux claimed design credit for the front-engine Parsifal model. The friction was relieved only when Benz resigned and Barbaroux became chief engineer.

BROOK HALL