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Mercedes-Benz Celebrates 130 Years of Modern Automobiles

A 130-year-old document, registered on January 29 with the German Imperial Patent Office in Berlin, still testifies that Mannheim-born engineer Carl Benz is the forefather of not only Mercedes-Benz but the modern automobile as well.
Carl Benz and the Patent Motorwagen 5 photos
Photo: Daimler AG
Benz Patent MotorwagenBenz Patent MotorwagenBenz Patent Motorwagen and Carl BenzBenz Patent Motorwagen
Apparently, the original patent has been part of UNESCO's Memory of the World Program since 2011, along with other important historical documents such as the Magna Carta, the Gutenberg Bible and even Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B Minor.

What looks like a simple yet old piece of paper stands as proof that, instead of waiting around for technology to evolve around him back in 1886, Car Benz was busy inventing the predecessor of the modern car.

In fact, the three-wheeler mentioned in the patent had been developed in 1885, but its first public appearance took place on July 3, 1886, in front of a crowd of mesmerized onlookers in Mannheim. Two years later, the Model III version of the patent car made the first ever long-distance journey for a self-powered vehicle.

Interestingly enough, it was Bertha Benz, Carl's wife, and their two children who drove the funky looking three-wheeler from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back, thus demonstrating the car's long-distance reliability.

Independently from Carl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler built the first carriage powered by an internal combustion engine in 1886. Little did the two German engineers know that in a few decades (1926, ed), their two companies would merge and create the Mercedes-Benz brand that lives to this day.

The original patent car was powered by a four-stroke engine with a single cylinder. Thanks to a displacement of 954 cc, the powerplant had an output of 0.75 horsepower at a comically low 400 rpm. The vehicle's top speed was around 16 km/h (10 mph), but it was enough to demonstrate that a self-propelled vehicle powered by an internal combustion engine could not only work, but preview over a hundred years of transportation on land. The next century will probably be electric, but that's a story for another time. Until then, we can only wish the Patent Motorwagen a sincere "Happy Birthday!."
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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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