This is what most folks consider to be the world’s first car.
In today’s TFLclassics video, we have something a little unorthodox for you: a shipping crate. In fairness, sitting inside that crate is the oldest car we’ve ever had in the TFL fleet — and a reproduction of one of the original cars in existence. If you know your history, you’ll know We’re talking about the 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen (and it helps that the guys painted “Benz 1886” on the crate).
Now, while you might argue the Ford Model T, with its iconic status as the world’s first mass-affordable car, is the proper genesis of the automotive history we all hold dear to this day. That said, Carl Benz patented the first internal combustion automobile designed to move under its own power in January 1886, and that’s what we have an example of here.
A couple years later, in August 1888, Carl’s wife Bertha Benz embarked on the first road trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, stopping at pharmacies along the way to refuel. Not only did this car predate modern roads, but it also came before the modern notion of the purpose-built “gas station”, which started cropping up around the turn of the century, after pharmacies sold fuel as a side business in the time of Bertha Benz’s 65-mile journey.
Naturally, the car industry has moved on leaps and bounds since then. You can get a small example of what I mean about operating the world’s first car below:
This is just the first video in a full series on the Benz, though this one covers the most basic element of owning the first car, which is getting it going in the first place and taking it for a (terrifying) drive.
Check out the full unboxing in the video on TFLclassics!
