From Cugnot’s Steam Wagon to the Automobile

By carriage or by bicycle—that was how people traveled in the late 1800s. For longer journeys, they relied on trains. Automobiles, it must be said, were still a luxury reserved for a few. After all, just a century earlier, in 1769, a French engineer had built the first vehicle prototype. Powered by steam, the so-called Cugnot Wagon threw open the doors to experimentation. Patent after patent followed through the 19th century as inventors sought ever more ingenious ways to move freely and individually.

Enter the two men whose inventions reshaped our four-wheeled world. Credit goes to Germany—first to Nikolaus Otto, who in 1876 created the internal-combustion engine, and then to Rudolf Diesel, who in 1892 refined earlier engineering studies. The century’s close also saw steam, electric and even sail-powered engines, but it wasn’t until the dawn of the 20th century that the gas engine truly took hold. Karl Benz, in 1886, had already introduced a three-wheeled vehicle with large spoked wheels and an internal-combustion engine. His “Victoria” model sold about a hundred units in quick succession. It featured a steering axle, an optional body and could reach 20 km/h.

While the Germans led the way, Italy made its mark in Verona. In 1894 Enrico Bernardi perfected a highly innovative prototype, and that same year in Padua Italy’s first carmaker, Miari & Giusti, was founded—soon followed by Fiat.

Also in 1894, another milestone spurred automobile use: the world’s first car race, Paris–Rouen, whose tradition continues today. More than a hundred drivers entered the inaugural event—some in petroleum-driven cars, others in gas, gasoline or steam vehicles. The winner was the De Dion Bouton tractor designed by Albert De Dion. The rules awarded 5,000 gold francs to the vehicle deemed “maneuverable, safe and inexpensive to maintain.” That “locomobile” covered 50 km in under four hours, powered by a mechanical propulsion system.

Not long after World War I, cars began to fill the roads as prices fell and more people could afford them. The spotlight shifted to Detroit, where Henry Ford pioneered mass production. The newly perfected assembly line and conveyor belts slashed build times and costs. In 1896 Ford unveiled the Quadricycle—a gasoline engine on a frame with four bicycle wheels. Two years later he founded the Detroit Automobile Company and, in 1903, the Ford Motor Company. Even before that, in 1902, Ford had captured headlines with the 999 racing car, which reached 150 km/h.

His next model, simply known as the Two-Cylinder Car, was designed for mass production and could hit 70 km/h. Ford sold about 1,700 units in two years. Then, in 1908, came the Model T—a genuine revolution in assembly-line manufacturing, with each car assembled in just 93 minutes. Between 1908 and 1927, some thirteen million Model Ts were sold before production ceased.

After the war years, Ford’s technology was adapted for military use and expanded into yachting and aviation. More than a century on—with over 150 models to its name—Ford remains a colossus in Detroit alongside Chrysler and General Motors, each competing for new successes and a lasting legacy.