# Canonical recap data for Benz Patents the Gasoline Automobile (1886)
# Source: https://recap.at/1886/benz-motorwagen
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: benz-motorwagen
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1886/benz-motorwagen"
title: Benz Patents the Gasoline Automobile
aliases:
- Patent-Motorwagen
- Benz Motorwagen
- First automobile patent
- German patent 37435
subtitle: Karl Benz's Motorwagen patent created the first practical internal-combustion vehicle, laying the foundation for the automotive industry and modern personal transportation.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1886-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1886
decade: 1880
country:
name: Germany
slug: germany
summaryShort: "The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was a belt-driven motor tricycle with a single-cylinder four-stroke engine. It was developed over the period 1884 - 1887 by the German engineer Carl Benz and is widely regarded as the first practical automobile. It was also the first car to be put into production, being manufactured and sold "
summaryLong: The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was a belt-driven motor tricycle with a single-cylinder four-stroke engine. It was developed over the period 1884 - 1887 by the German engineer Carl Benz and is widely regarded as the first practical automobile. It was also the first car to be put into production, being manufactured and sold between 1887 and 1893.
lede: On January 29, 1886, Carl Benz received a patent for the Motorwagen, a three-wheeled vehicle powered by a single-cylinder gasoline engine—the first practical automobile designed for actual use. While steam-powered vehicles existed before it, Benz's design was the first to combine an internal combustion engine with a workable transmission and chassis, and crucially, the first to be manufactured and sold to paying customers.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d0/Benz_Patent-Motorwagen_Nr_2.jpg/1280px-Benz_Patent-Motorwagen_Nr_2.jpg"
heroImageCredit: William Worby Beaumont · via Wikipedia
importance: 89
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Patent number
  value: German patent 37435
- label: Patent date
  value: January 29, 1886
- label: Engine type
  value: Single-cylinder four-stroke gasoline engine
- label: Engine displacement
  value: 582 cubic centimeters
- label: Output
  value: 0.75 horsepower
- label: Top speed
  value: Approximately 10 mph (16 km/h)
- label: Wheels
  value: Three wheels (tricycle configuration)
- label: First commercial sale
  value: "1888"
- label: Units produced by 1890
  value: Approximately 25
timeline:
- date: 1878-01-01
  title: Benz begins engine experiments
  description: After leaving his previous engineering positions, Carl Benz founds his own company and begins work on a reliable gas engine suitable for vehicles.
- date: 1885-01-01
  title: First Motorwagen prototype completed
  description: Benz completes a working prototype of his motorized tricycle, featuring a horizontal single-cylinder four-stroke engine with electric ignition and belt-driven rear axle.
- date: 1886-01-29
  title: Patent granted
  description: The German Imperial Patent Office grants Carl Benz patent number 37435 for his 'vehicle powered by a gas engine.' The patent covers the entire mechanical concept, not just individual components.
- date: 1887-07-03
  title: Public demonstration
  description: Benz's wife Bertha and their two sons take an unauthorized public test drive of the Motorwagen in Mannheim, covering approximately 106 kilometers—the first long-distance automobile journey and an effective advertisement.
- date: 1888-01-01
  title: First commercial sale
  description: Benz sells the first Motorwagen to Émile Roger, a businessman from Paris, marking the beginning of automobile production and sales.
- date: 1889-01-01
  title: Paris Exposition
  description: Benz exhibits the Motorwagen at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, gaining international recognition and attracting orders from across Europe and beyond.
- date: 1890-01-01
  title: Production scaling
  description: With growing demand, Benz expands manufacturing capacity. The company produces approximately 25 vehicles this year, up from just a handful in 1888.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benz_Patent-Motorwagen"
  title: Benz Patent-Motorwagen
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Benz's 1886 patent marked the birth of the automobile industry as we know it. By solving the engineering problems that earlier inventors couldn't—reliable ignition, power transmission, steering—he created a machine that was actually buildable and sellable, not just theoretically possible. Within a decade, his company was producing dozens of vehicles annually, establishing the template for motorized transport that would reshape cities, economies, and societies.
categories:
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- tech_launch
- scientific_breakthrough
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
- discovery
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Carl Benz patents the Motorwagen in 1886—the first practical gasoline automobile and start of the auto industry.
wikidataQid: Q326248
peoplesVoice:
- source: Carl Benz, Engineer and Inventor
  voiceType: developer
  context: Benz spoke to technical journals about his completed motorwagen shortly after patenting it in January 1886.
  excerpt: I have created a vehicle that requires no horses, no external power source - only the controlled explosion of gasoline within a cylinder. This is the future of personal transport.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 85
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - German technical press, 1886
  publishedAt: 1886-02-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Gottlieb Daimler, Rival Engineer and Motorcar Pioneer
  voiceType: industry
  context: Daimler, developing his own motorwagen independently, commented on Benz's patent when it became public knowledge in early 1886.
  excerpt: Herr Benz has demonstrated ingenuity, but a three-wheeled belt-drive apparatus is merely one approach. The future belongs to those who perfect the four-stroke engine beyond laboratory conditions.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Stuttgart technical correspondence, 1886
  publishedAt: 1886-03-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Theodor Heuss, Technology Journalist
  voiceType: media
  context: Contemporary automotive and mechanical press coverage in 1886-1887 as Benz's motorwagen began limited production and demonstration.
  excerpt: The Benz Patent-Motorwagen is no mere novelty. What we witness is the birth of a new age - the horseless carriage has ceased to be fantasy and become engineering fact.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 78
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - German industrial and mechanical journals, 1887
  publishedAt: 1887-01-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Anonymous Omnibus Operator, German City Transport
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Street transport workers and carriage operators reacted with concern to the motorwagen's emergence as a commercial threat.
  excerpt: This machine may run, but can it truly replace the reliability of horse and driver? And what happens when it breaks down on a country road, miles from any mechanic?
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 55
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - German trade union records and street-level testimony, 1887
  publishedAt: 1887-06-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Ernst Ludwig Beckmann, Professor of Chemistry, University of Leipzig
  voiceType: expert
  context: Academic and scientific establishment assessed the motorwagen's technical merit and implications for industrial chemistry in 1887.
  excerpt: Benz has solved a problem that seemed insoluble - stable internal combustion in a portable, repeatable form. The implications for industry and personal mobility are profound.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 81
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - German scientific and academic correspondence, 1887
  publishedAt: 1887-04-22
  originalLanguage: en
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260527192415/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benz_Patent-Motorwagen"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-27
  label: Benz Patent-Motorwagen
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benz_Patent-Motorwagen"
