Some Of The Oldest Cars In The World

February 7, 2023

Most people would guess that the Ford Model T is the oldest car in the world, given Henry Ford's hefty contribution to the automotive industry. However, if you conduct some thorough research, you'll find the oldest cars in the world were powered by steam, not gasoline. There are plenty of other vehicles that came before the Model T, and we've got a condensed list of some of the ones that stood out in the crowd.

Balzer

The Balzer was built in 1894 and is a proudly American invention. It was a motorized quadricycle that had a 3-speed manual transmission with one lever used to engage speeds and the clutch. New York inventor Stephen Balzer gets credit for coming up with the masterpiece that boasted a lightweight three-cylinder mounted engine. The engine was strategically mounted with a stationary crankshaft along with a shorter shaft that connected to the driving gears. The Balzer was the first vehicle to be put on display at the Smithsonian Institute and has been displayed many times over the years.

The next vehicle was one cylinder, four horsepower car.

Duryea Car

This one is recognized as the first gasoline-powered vehicle to have been built in the US. Two brothers, Charles and Frank Duryea were the masterminds behind the commercial car. It was first driven around Springfield, Massachusetts in 1893. There was only one cylinder with a water-cooled gasoline engine. If you're looking to check this one out in person, The Smithsonian Institutehas an 1893 version on display. By 1896, the brothers had sold thirteen units, and the first ten were the first cars to be sold in the U.S.

Up next is a tricycle turned quadricycle that had a top speed of 31mph.

De Dion-Bouton Quadricycle

Comte Albert De Dion and Bouton built this bad boy in as early as 1882. It was following the success of an internal combustion engine that De Dion and Bouton crafted that the pair decided to take their favored engine and build quadricycles with them as well. The engines are accredited to be the world's first successful engines that were utilized in the 19th-century motorsports as well. The engines were sourced by many automobile builders at the time due to their durability and 'modern' mechanism. There is a 1900 build model displayed at the Louwman Museum in The Hague, Netherlands.

The next vehicle was a joint project from the minds of two lifelong friends.

Daimler Maybach-Stahlradwagen

Wilhelm Maybach and Gottlieb Daimler were two of some early pioneers who produced vehicles that ran off internal combustion engines. The duo's vision can still be seen in the richness of Maybachs you know today. The Stahlradwagen or 'steel-wheeled car' got its power from a single-cylinder engine situated underneath the driver's side. It was in 1889 when Stahlradwagen's hype inspired Armand Peugeot to build cars based on Stahlradwagen's design. After much recognition, the two friends continued to work on various other projects until Daimler's demise in 1900. It was Daimler's tracing of a star on a postcard that became the trademark of Mercedes.

Up next is the first Denmark-built car.

Hammelvognen

This one was a first for Denmark and was one of the first cars to have a reverse gear and brakes. The Hammelvognen came to fruition back in 1886 and ran on a 2-cylinder engine with a whopping horsepower of three. For the pre-20th century, the vehicle was considered innovation at its peak. The original Hammelvognen's home is currently at the Danmarks Tekniske Museum. With no form of a suspension system, the ride across the bumpy roads of Denmark must have been quite the journey itself but having the first brakes in the world would prove worthwhile.

The next vehicle was built in 1885 but was not entirely patented until 1886.

Benz Patent-Motorwagen

This Benz is recognized as the first car in history to be powered by gasoline. It would have cost you about $150 dollars back at that time, and just a little over $4,000 now. An interesting fact to know: it was actually Karl Benz' wife who financed the process but women at that time weren't allowed to apply for patents, so technically the rights should be hers. The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was powered by a single-cylinder engine with evaporation supplying fuel to the vehicle. Benz later went on to add leather brake shoes to avoid wear and tear in 1887.

Up next is a vehicle that won the world's first car race...technically.

La Marquise

La Marquise is another one of the world's oldest vehicles, the 1884 model was the concept of Frenchmen Bouton, Trepardoux, and Dion. Named after Dion's mother, the car is also known to have won the world's first car race. It was, however, the only car that showed up. La Marquise took about thirty to forty minutes to build an appropriate amount of steam to move and was fueled by wood, bits of paper and coal. The French creation was sold to the highest bidder in 2011 for a whopping $4.6 million dollars.

The next vehicle was one that was still fully functional as of 2009.

Grenville Steam Carriage

The Grenville Steam Carriage was built by Robert Neville Grenville of the UK in 1875. The carriage was handmade in the comfort of his own home. However, in that era hand built cars cost quite the pretty penny (or pound) to operate. It could carry seven passengers and was more reminiscent of a train than a car. One of the passengers would be required to stoke and feed the engine in order for the carriage to run. It's interesting to know even after over 130 years; the 'car' was still functioning as of 2009. The carriage could get from London to Brighton in under nine hours and required 200 gallons of water and 500 pounds of coal to do so.

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