Creation history

The first automobile equipped with a gearbox Renault Voiturette was built at Billancourt (France) by Louis Renault back in 1898, when he was only a little over 20. He reconstructed the small tricycle of de Dion’s to a 4-wheeled automobile and changed the driving belts and chains making much noise, which were used before, with an innovation - a gearbox, having three forward gears and one backward. The drive power for the first, direct gear was delivered via an articulated shaft onto the differential gear of the rear axle. Later on this concept was also implemented for constructing other automobiles and basically is still used today almost unchanged.

The first Renault automobile had a 1-cylinder engine with water-cooler, produced by De Dion-Bouton firm; the diameter of its cylinder was 66 millimeters, piston stroke 80 millimeters. Its volume was 273 cubic centimeters. The total power of this engine located in the front part of automobile was 1.3 kilowatt (1.75 horsepower). The Voiturette, having a weight of around 350 kilograms plus two passengers, made up to 32 km/h, consuming 6 liters of petrol per 100 kilometers.

Right after the automobile demonstration Louis Renault arranged for his friends he got 12 orders, most of which were generously paid. In order to execute these orders Renault had to found a firm. This way in 1899 a company titled Societe Renault Freres was founded by the instrumentality of his brothers Marcel and Fernand. That very year the firm produced 72 limousines with closed body style, so-called “Renault-coupe.” In 1990 another model of Renault brothers appeared, this time with a more powerful engine making 2.6 kilowatt (3.5 horsepower). Later on the engines were provided by De Dion-Bouton firm. The Renaults of that period had 2 radiators located on the sides of the bonnet.

De Dion-Bouton motorcar was constructed by De Dion-Bouton firm in Paris in 1903.

Albert de Dion, an extravagant viscount born in 1856 in Carquefous was nicknamed a “sport marquis” by his comrades, both because he was really good in fencing and he was among of the first motorists and one of the founders of French automobile club.

De Dion-Bouton and Trepardoux firm, formed in 1882, built the first steam-engines. In 1894 de Dion won the first car-race on Paris-Ruan track driving a steam-engine he constructed himself. After failing to win the several following races he decided that he would have more luck with petrol engines constructed by some Daimler from Stuttgart. Meanwhile marquise’s partner Trepardoux dissolved the alliance, afraid of potential bankruptcy. De Dion was not satisfied with Daimler’s engines making 700-900 revolutions per minute. He constructed machines making up to 3000 rpm.
In 1895 De Dion-Bouton firm constructed a small tricycle automobile equipped with a petrol engine making 0.55 kW (0.75 horsepower) with the following innovative elements: high-voltage electronic-plug ignition, interrupter and accumulator. This automobile became really popular and this kind of engine was used for building new models by over 100 firms like Delage, Renault, Febus, Adler and even an American one named Pierce-Arrow. De Dion-Bouton exhibited their first voiturette making 2.6 kW (3.6 horsepower) on a motor show in Paris.

This model of 1903 (see the article illustration) had a 1-cylinder engine of 942 cubic centimeters volume making 5.9 kW (8.4 horsepower).
For many years it was the most popular French car type. Its two-phase gearbox was operated with a lever located on the steering tube. With its total weight of 515 kilograms (without passengers) this automobile made up to 45 km/h. De Dion’s axle with characteristic permanent distance between the wheels and softer suspension was used for constructing this model. Mostly it was used for racing and sport cars, such as Horh, Opel and Daimler-Benz.

De Dion-Bouton firm ceased to exist in 1993 and its numerous products still decorate many European museums.

"Benz & Co. Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik" Company was founded in 1885. One of this brand founders, Carl Friedrich Benz, began building automobile with internal-combustion engine. He used chassis with three wheels, equipped with wood spokes and rubber hoop.

The company’s first engine was meant for industrial purposes and gave only 120-180rpm – rather few for moving a whole vehicle. Benz’s second invention was 4-stroke engine with 950 cubic capacity, 0.75 h/p power and 400 rpm. The construction of the engine included valves instead of a slider, battery ignition and closed cooling system. In addition the engine was arranged between rear wheels and was given horizontal fly-wheel.

The engine drive was carried out via binary chains. Thevehivle weighted 263 kg and was able to reach 16 km/h of average speed. In 1885 the first automobile in world was ready for start and Benz made the first test trip in it. Afterwards the car would be named “Benzina”. Next year “Benz and K” Company took out their first patent for a car with gasoline engine.


Thanks to Parisian Emilio Rodecker, representative of Benz Company in France, the name of Benz Patent Motorwagen became more famous in France than in Germany! One day Berta Benz, the wife of Carl Benz, decided to “popularize” this invention in Germany too. One morning they moved the automobile out the garage, started the engine and drove it for 90km (54miles) to Phoriheim city, where their grandmother lived. At the end of day Carl received telegram from them, saying “Good Luck in Foriheim!”

In 1888 at the industrial exhibition, that took place in Monaco, an improved Motorwagen model earned a gold medal. Benz was driving his car throughout Monaco’s streets and afterwards got the first driving license in the world in Baden on the 1st August, 1888.

From 1888 to 1893 there were produced 15 vehicles of that successful model. Now you can find the original first Benz car in Unterturkheim museum of Mercedes – Benz, in Stuttgart.

At the initial stage of automobile history vehicle for the overwhelming part of population was something inconceivable, unreal, and rather unpractical. Some considered automobile funny rara avis but most saw it just as smoky and perilous machine possibly connected to evil spirit.

Imperfection of those automobiles gave well-grounded, sound and logical reason for negative attitude.

Townsmen were getting afraid of plops generated by gasoline fume explosions inside engine. Newspapers were alleging – “the police should prevent gasoline carriage from putting the world in danger”. So that G. Daimler, for example, had to try his carriages on out-of-town roads at nights. C. Benz was obliged to inform the police on its every trip route and stoppage points to enable fire brigades to be ready.

Automobile was still troublesome and unreliable and up to XX century is was regarded as amusing mechanical toy, sportive apparatus, carriage for making trips and solemn rides. In USA passenger automobile right till the First World War was being named “pleasure car”. In 1900 American magazine “Motor Age” issued an article “What is excellent automobile?” saying: “it is a beautiful, stylish carriage ready to be started immediately without enduring and laborious preliminary preparations, as well as stopped; it is able to move at any desirable speed up to 25 mph, can be managed by anyone without special training, pass via rough streets, roads, steep ascents – carries out everything a horse carriage is able to but more effectively and taking less spending; has no its own new lacks and those of horse carriage.

In spite of this positive description there was not a single automobile corresponding it as every, even a short one, trip in it obtained the importance of public event and the preparations for it were scarcely easier than of steam carriages.

The procedure of automobile starting looked as follows: driver was arranging it possibly horizontally, connects muffler to exhaust pipe with a hose, fills the tank with fuel, then puts ignition line in a socket, turns on fuel tap, presses carburetor needle not to let fuel overflow. Finished with preparations driver scrolls front, side or rear-arranged rod five revs; turns on carburetor, pressure-release cock to remove compression in cylinder chamber and some more revs to generate spark. Now driver has to manage cocks again: in case engine working is irregular with missings – it’s necessary to tune fuel delivery, and if engine doesn’t start – driver has to screw out a plug, wash it, dry it, and then driver has to clean carburetor from fuel and can try starting engine once more.

Finally started he climes up on it he had to put ten times more efforts to automobile managing as modern drivers do. In addition to well known pedals and tools there were levers for fuel delivery, ignition tuning and fuel pump. On hard road sections passengers had to climb down to lighten burden or even push automobile.

Therefore It is not a surprise that nearly for two decades following the automobile invention by C. Benz and G. Daimler carriages with electric or steam powered engines were considered forward-looking. In 1899 in USA just 22% of automobiles had combustion engines, while steam and electric powered amounted to 38% each.

By 1905 the situation changed fundamentally – there were 70% of inner combustion engine powered vehicles, and only 15% electric and steam each. Remarkably by 1910 the share of two past sorts diminished to less 1% of the whole number and in 1920 for example it was hard to find electric or steam engine based carriage. The triumphant expansion of inner combustion engine powered automobiles was by the moment inevitable and thorough. Even such events as world top speed records carried out in electric car (1898, racer Jenatsi – 105 kmph) and in steam powered carriages (1902, racer Serpolle – 120 km/h; 1906, racer Stanley – 204 km/0h). Though the competitors of gasoline automobile had no complex ignition and fuel delivery systems, no clutch and gearbox in transmission. Hence there are no clutch pedal and gears changing lever enabling easier handling and structure. This added by reliability of few friction parts, noiselessness and absence of smoke for electric vehicles were main advantages of the gasoline automobile competitors. These arguments made popular electric vehicles among high society women so that it was usually named “ladies’ automobile” and constructors installed there handling possibility from rear seat, shelf for hats and even pearl signal button. Electric vehicles were mostly used for city driving, while for distant trips rail ways played the exclusive role. The formal speed of electric vehicle was up to 30 km/h, 24 hours’ run – up to 50 km and although it could produce the biggest 10-15 w-h ratio for that moment per kilo of its weight electric carriage needed a battery of 700-1000 kilos; steam powered carriage had similar weight-power correlation.

Inner combustion engine was impetuously improving reached by the beginning of XX century 60 w-kilo ratio of specific power intensity. So gap between gasoline powered automobile and those by electric and steam engine types became visible; and it was inexorably increasing.

By the 20s of XX century energy storage and speed of gasoline automobiles doubled so to compete with it electric one would need bearing 2-tonne battery and its own weight would reach 4 tones and ad infinitum. This is the main reason for electric automobiles got out of mass use found their niche in small numbers as post, so called “transportation” (for shops) and inner plant vehicles.

Steam vehicles reviewing and comparing would lead to analogous conclusions.

At the same time it was an easy task to increase combustion engine power and thereby vehicle’s speed. Cylinder diameter extension was leading to augmentation of forces affecting its walls, crank levers hastening their wear out; piston stroke lengthening was causing problems in relation to cylinder arranging on the vehicle as the crank parts also became bigger in size. In both cases engine was becoming heavier. These circumstances urged inventors to multiply the number of cylinders. G. Daimler started with his early engine models giving them 2 cylinders (V-type), in 1891 he built his first 4-cylinder engine.

Cylinders number increase was endowing engines with both compactness with power growth and smoother ride. At the same time V-type engine model with several cylinders was facing more technical problems: more complex design and assembling, crankshaft flexure. These reasons made inventors to arrange in engine counterbalances, auxiliary balance shaft and add crankshaft bearings.

By the end of XIX there were a lot of companies manufacturing at the time 1-, 2- and 4-cylinder engines seeking to put the same cylinders in order to launch mass production and simplify swap in case of breakage. Some manufacturers were trying to construct engines with demountable cylinder head (as it is in modern cars) enabling better assembling and valves serving but failed to achieve pertinent ratio of gap density between cylinder and cylinders head: heating caused head deformation and impermeability vanished. Other engine producers founded cylinders and heads as a whole part given hatches with threaded taps to reach valves. The result was complex o even elaborate; water cooling jacket usually made of brass or copper was demountable fixed with screws.

An important aspect in engine construction belonged to fuel delivery development including inflation cylinders with gas mixture and exhaust. All early combustion engines had injection system based on automatic admission disk valve similar to modern ones; it usually worked unstably but the construction simplicity of admission disk valve was attracting automobile inventors till the beginning of XX century. When engine speed grow essentially disk valve was replaced by dirigible valve system.

Exhaust valve construction was initially dirigible and based on slide valve as in steam engines using eccentric and control rod. With cylinders number increasing number of eccentric increased too and this led constructors onto the idea of one shaft with cams instead of eccentrics belted with crankshaft. Cams were arranged so as to lift valve spindles when required. During cam’s subsequent moving valve was held shut by spring. So fuel delivery structure obtained the type it has nowadays.

Initially automobile engine was cooled by air but soon inventors came to the conclusion that water cooling is much more effective. After several types of it were tried pipe radiators gained wide spread application that girded sometimes the entire hood. Pipe radiators were in use for 15 years and in 1901 first tubular or cellular radiator with large cooling surface was implemented in Mercedes model. The end of XIX century was marked by inventing water pump rotated by crankshaft, and fan which arranged behind radiator or united with engine flywheel was to blow air through radiator.

Combustion engine lubricant system on threshold of XX century was using spattering. Buckets of connecting rods lower heads were stirring up oil in case lubricating cylinders and bearings. In order to lubricate the other engine parts there served an array of droppers set into dashboard or on body side. At regular intervals driver or his assistant were to button droppers.

Long before automobile invention pulverizer was contrived. Arranged between gasoline tank and cylinders it would generate air draught inside cylinder and gasoline spraying. Mixed with air gasoline would create gas mixture but constructors considered such a structure too subtle for rough engines of that time. They contrived intricate and elaborate carburetors. Markus carburetor model working principle reminds paint spattering with a brush (hence named brush carburetor). In Benz bubble carburetor model air was passing through thickness of gasoline in tank and gradually with fuel spending gasoline layer was becoming thinner so gas mixture – less saturated therefore carburetor functioned well only at early stages of working. Wick carburetor type was rejected as cylinder discharge was causing wick inflow inside it and engine inevitably stopped. Failed at implementing all described types of carburetors automobile inventors moved back to pulverizer one. Daimler and Maybach’s model of pulverizer carburetor was composed of float and mixing chambers. In first one fuel level was kept automatically and due to discharge gasoline was coming out of mixing chamber’s jet sprayed. This carburetor idea mainly preserved unchanged up to date.

Diversity of constructive ideas was typical for early ignition systems as well. Their effectiveness can be illustrated by usual words of greeting popular among drivers of the time: “Lucky ignition!”

Lenoir’s electric units were so unreliable that first C. Benz’s automobile equipped with one could ride via very smooth road, in dry weather and not far from charging station only. Subsequently Lenoir’s units were removed for dynamo which required essential hand efforts and worked at engine low speed only.

Acid accumulator of that time was not developed for apt using being too heavy, insufficient and fragile.

The invention made by R. Bosch (1861 – 1942), German engineer, caught attention of many auto inventors. It was “magnetic ignition for from break” producing current due to keeper moving within electric field between magnetic poles. At current strength peak electric line was broken by traction driven by electric keeper. Spark turned out and gas mixture flared up. This system worked well only under engine speed of 300 rpm.

G. Daimler and W. Maybach aspiring better engine speed were the first to apply to serial automobile magnetic electronic machine contrived by R. Bosch. They started to name it “magneto of high voltage”. It enabled reliable uninterrupted ignition regardless to engine rpm ratio. Automobiles with magneto were being produced up to 1930s.

Thus step by step automobile engine was created. Its power capacity by early XX increased dozens, fuel consumption per h/p – twice and most obviously similarity of automobile engine to stationary one was melting away.

It may seem strange though automobile was not named as it is at once. The word “automobile” was widely applicable to any mechanics, and given strong tradition of horse transport one can see why first automobiles were called various ways, not just “automobile” but “horseless carriage”, “motored cart”, “motor”, “carriage”, “bicycle”, “push-cycle”.

Here “automobile ancestors” period in car history end turning to “veterans’ period”.

Now it is hard to imagine the process of motorization in France without Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor - two engineers who in 1886 founded woodworking machinery plant. After a time they got license for outputting Daimler’s engines and since 1890 their company began producing automobiles engines.


Levassor wanted to design automobile that will be similar horse carriage but with specific automobile functions. He tried different engine locations: front, rear, middle and as result he decided to place vertical two cylinders engine in front of automobile. Their first model with such a construction was made in 1891. It was brought in motion with two cylinder V-type engines by Daimler that had 20° angle between cylinders and one crankshaft. Engine had 1,235 cc volumes and total power of about 1.84kW (2.5hp). Engine was connected via clutch with three gear gearbox that used chain-drive that was united with rear wheels. Its top speed was about 30kph (18mph). It was a reliable car and one of them has been preserved well till nowadays having run about 140,000km.


Emile Levassor took part in various racings at the steering of his automobile, showing the development of his invention. In 1895 Levassor won very hard non-stop Paris-Bordeaux-Paris race One year later he was the first at 1711km (1,026.6miles) distance the largest French race Paris-Marseilles-Paris but accident prevented him from winning this competition. However the first three winners of the racing were the automobiles of Panhard & Levassor.

Levassor died in 1897 from the injury he got in the accident, so he occurred the first man who fell a victim in auto racing.

The electric drive was widely adapted to practical domestic applications from the first half of the 19th century. It was created on the basis of recharged batteries: no vibration, no exhaust, 90% of efficiency in comparison with 25% of internal combustion engine.


The very first efforts were aimed at searching an alternative to the source of pulling power for noisy and fuming locomotives, but soon the experiments were shifted towards automobiles.
The first car electric engine was made by James Starley in 1888. Indeed the first satisfactory results were achieved by Raeford and Jantoe only in 1893. They constructed an automobile with two batteries located in the rear; each of them was 200Ah with total weight 420 kg. The engine power amounted 2.5 kilowatt by 1300 rpm.


The real reason for stopping experiments with electric drive in 1910 was the main problem of electromobiles - limited fuel distance, but not combustion engine rapid development. And the search of other source for pulling power wasn’t the actual for that time.


As to speed e-mobiles attained an appreciable progress. In 1897 an English electromobile Gladiator Pinganet overpassed one kilometer for 1 min 46 sec; and 5 miles for 8min 56sec. In 1894 five e-mobiles took part in Paris-Rouen race.
Undoubtedly, the major breakthrough in this kind of engine development was carried out in 1899, when Kamil Jenatsi overpassed for the first time the speed margin of 62.5 mph, showing 66.19mph as average speed! Jenatsi’s automobile had streamline form, what created important prerequisite for the record. But Jenatsi missed to construct proper driver’s arrangement: the driver had to sit waist-deep inside and the his top was in the outer.


World speed record was perhaps the last famous event in the electromobile history. This automobile branch was held up because of its expensiveness and limited fuel distance. These were practically the same objections against accumulator car that has also place nowadays: only one model can not propose an alternative for petrol car. In 1895-1909 a French company “Kriger”, the largest electric vehicle producer, achieved much success in this kind of industry. The company was presented in England as “British Electromobile”– “Namag” in Germany and “СТАЕ” – in Italy.


Fuel distance of the 1897 model amounted to 37.5 miles, given the max speed of 15 mph, and weight 1100kg (350kg of batteries).Two years later there was invented one more powerful automobile with two engines that provided 6 h/p either, that could run 56.25 miles without recharge.
Battery-driven vehicles were prosperous mostly in the USA, where Fred Kimble constructed the first model in 1888. The “Electrical Carriage And Wagon Company” in Philadelphia began as the first serial manufacturers of electromobiles. By 1912 there were about 20 thousands automobiles with electric drive. But the interests of buyers, as well producers were mostly inclined to internal combustion engine. Only this kind of engine provided a reliable opportunity for a long distance trip in one’s car.

The principle of combustion engine operation was based on a pistol invented by Alessandro Volta in 1777. The principle laid in using electric spark and mixture of air and coal gas instead of gunpowder. In 1807 Francois Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland took out a patent for using the mixture of hydrogen and oxygen as substance of mechanical power generation. Rivaz designed a car for his engine. It was the first internal combustion powered auto. There was installed an engine consisting of one cylinder, in which due to combustion its piston drove upwards and downward; by downward stroke it set going rocker arm. The usage of gas was rather dangerous, and the war - de Rivaz was Napoleon's army officer, interrupted further development of the most prominent automobile predecessor.


At the beginning of 19th century there were done a number of researches of gas ignition problem by an English engineer Robert Street, Frenchman Philippe Lebon, American inventor Peter Cooper; and in 1825 Michael Faraday discovered benzol – the first liquid fuel for internal combustion engine!


Till 1830 there were produced a lot of vehicles, but they weren’t equipped with a “real” internal combustion engine; these engines ran on mixture of air and coal gas. This solution didn’t gain significant advantages; moreover the production of such engines was unsafe.


The foundation for creation of a lightweight and compact engine was laid only in 1841 by an Italian inventor Luigi de Cristoforis. He constructed an engiine which produced driving force by “pressure- ignition”. Such engine was equipped with a pump that fed kerosene as fuel.


Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci evolved the idea and in 1854 invented the first real internal combustion engine. It was working in three-stroke lead without water cooling. The fuel used was a mixture of air and coal gas; the engine produced 5h/p.


In 1858 was invented a two-cylinder combustion engine fueled by coal gas. In 1860 a Belgian-born engineer Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir patented his own internal combustion engine that was commercially prosperous. The three-stroke engine was fueled by coal gas. In 1863 was made an attempt of assembling it with an automobile, but 1,5h/p and 100 rpm figures were not enough for travel.


In 1867 at Paris World Exhibition in Paris, “Deutz” gas engine factory founded by Otto and Langen presented Barsanti-Matteucci based engine. It was not so heavy, caused less vibration and shortly after, it replaced Lenoir’s engine.
In 1872 began the legendary cooperation of two prominent persons in the company “Deutz” - Gottlieb Daimler (chief engine engineer) and Wilhelm Mybach (chief automobile constructor). During their 10 years team-work they produced two thousand electric spark-ignition combustion engines, which were selling out in Europe from 1875. The same year an Austrian engineer Siegfried Marcus constructed his first, but very primitive automobile using Otto-Engine.


A real revolution in the internal combustion engine development happened with application of four-stroke engine, patented by a French civil engineer - Alphonse Beau de Rochas in 1862; which once and for all forced out the “Otto-engine” from exploitation in 1876.


The combustion engine improvement continued also in the USA. Here it’s important to mention George Brayton, an American engineer, who in 1876 tested his automobile engine himself. Brayton and Otto met the same year on the exhibition in Philadelphia and exchanged their experience. Other American, George Baldwin, took out a patent for automobile in 1877, which was a signal of America’s “travel era”. In Italy, Giuseppe Murnigotti patented an original four-stroke engine (with double-acting piston) arranged with a three-wheeled vehicle. In France, Edouard Delamare-Debouteville with the help of his skilled and capable mechanician Leon Malandin constructed a four-wheel automobile with high pressure level, fueled by kerosene. Some important constituents (for instance above located valves and 2,5h/p) were considered as progress for that time. Many people thought it was the first automobile, but Debouteville missed the opportunity of commercial introduction, thus his name disappeared out of automobile history.


Daimler and Mybach left Deutz to establish their own company in Stuttgart in 1882. In 1883 they presented their first powerful engine that weighted 80 kg. It was really light weighted in comparison with other combustion engines with the weight of 300kg. The engine had a new ignition system reaching 450-900 rpm. The system consisted of platinum tube heated by outside burner. But because of its limited power (0,5 h/p) it could be used for light vehicles, for example motorcycles.


Meanwhile another German mechanical engineer, Karl Benz, "Benz & Co" owner in Mannheim, developed his electric ignition engine. In 1886 he produced three-wheeled automobile that thanks to a new engine assembling can be considered as real first automobile.

The same year, Daimler builds his improved engine into the body that wasn’t changed appreciably in course of time. These cars were inventions marked the birth of automobile in its full sense.
While Benz was improving his three-wheeled automobile trying to place its engine in the best way, Daimler was engaged in the process of selling his engines, which were known even outside Germany.


In 1889 a two cylinder engine (V-type) with swept volume 565cc (920 rpm, 1.75 h/p) came into the market. It was water-cooled and used centrifugal pump and radiator. The automobile, equipped with such engine, could reach 17 km/h!


At the Universal Exhibition 1889 in Paris the car and the latest Benz model caught special attention. Therein Daimler succeeded in concluding a treaty on concession for producing engines by “Panhard et Levassor” company that he headed for 4 years.


This French company was initially founded in 1864 for the purpose of production woodworking machinesbut subsequently redirected later on making internal combustion engines. Its first client was Armand Peugeot, who after several prototypes in 1891 developed four-wheeled automobile with two-cylinder V-type engine providing 2 h/p by 1000 rpm, 8 km/h speed.


The same year the “Panhard et Levassor” company presented its own automobile – a front wheel drive model. By 1891 Benz produced seven automobiles, Panhard et Levassor - six, Peugeot – only four. Nevertheless it was well known everywhere.


In 1893 Benz company produced four-wheeled automobile Victoria with one cylinder engine 2.9 providing 3h/p. Later, due to cooling system improvement its power was increased till 5 h/p. A year later, Velo, a lighter model, was the first serially produced car in Germany.


Next year the Levassor Company made a decision to stop the production of the Daimler engine because of an advanced two cylinder engine - “Phoenix”. In that way, making “Phoenix” engines, the French company became the main innovator in motor-car construction development till the beginning of the 20th century.


As to Italy, so it’s worth to mention that the first automobile with combustion engine was constructed by Professor Enrico Bernardi in 1890. He made a real contribution to engine improvement, developing removable cylinder head. Bernardi’s automobiles didn’t have a big commercial success, mainly because the economic situation Italy wasn’t auspicious at that moment. Nevertheless these automobile models were of great technical value.


On the whole by 1895 in France were produced 350 automobiles, in Germany – 75. 135 of them constructed Benz, Panhard et Levassor Company - 72. These figures reflect slow automobile industry development.

Modern civilization can’t exist without automobiles – that’s a fact but automobile history went through several stages before reached the invention of car in modern understanding. And the one of the milestones in this long cycle was invention of gas engine. The basis for it was established by French engineer Philip Lebon in 1999 when he contrived the way of getting coal gas through sublimating wood or coal. This invention became very important for illumination and coal lamps started to replace expensive candles but not only. Lebon found out soon that coal gas mixed with air has can be blasted resulting in a great number of heat producing. Therefore in 1801 Lebon took out a patent for “coal gas engine”.


The idea of Lebon’s engine functioning was based on steam engine’s – but instead of steam he suggested directing into cylinder the mixture of coal gas and air. He engine structure included two compressors and a merge chamber. One compressor was to inject air into the chamber and the second one – compressed coal gas from gas generator. Then the mixture was to be served into the cylinder for further firing. Remarkably that F. Lebon’s project engine was 2-action as it has two chambers on the sides that worked in turns. Thus in addition Philip Lebon occurred the deviser of classical electronic ignition later implemented by Lenouar in 1860-1864. Unfortunately Lebon died in 1804. He hadn’t managed to implement his ideas into practice.


In the next decades several inventors from different countries tried to create the working model based on coal gas but only Ethien Lenouar (1822-1900) in 1860 succeeded. This Belgian galvanic plant worker came to the idea of igniting the fuel mixture of coal gas and air by means of electric spark and decided to construct an engine. But the success was not so easily obtained. The first model of his engine worked very little period of time and stopped as the piston swelled of the cylinder’s overheating. In response Lenouar gave his engine the system of water cooling but soon another obstacle arose – the engine couldn’t start because of hard piston stroke. Lenouar parried this problem with providing his engine lubrication system. So finally the engine started to work. Its functioning can brought to the following: coal gas and air were served into the cylinder separately (not as in Lebon’s project engine) and merged together only inside it. Then two electric sparks unturned into cylinder lids ignited the formed mixture. The ignition system also included cupric-zinc batteries, Rumcorf coil and automatic ignition distributor. Lenouar’s engine was also 2-action type as there the injection was from two sides of the cylinder; It was two-stroke as well and engine’s full working cycle lasted two piston strokes – down and up. The first stroke included intake, ignition and fuel mixture swelling in the cylinder. In the second stroke exhaust gas goes out the cylinder. The intake-exhaust procedure is managed by bolt-valve and it in its turn by eccentric arranged at the shaft.


The advantages of new coal gas-based engine in contrary to steam engines were first of all possibility of its considerably easier exploitation, and coal gas engine was not so dangerous because it had no steam-boiler and fire box. Though the coal gas engine remained as heavy as steam engine. One produced power unit cost seven times more expensive then of the steam engine. And the coefficient of efficiency came up to just 0.04 – the rest energy was wasted into the exhaust. When the shaft speed reached 100 ev/min the ignition worked irregularly. More over engine cooling system demanded some 120 cubic meters of water per hour! AS the gas temperature get to 800 degrees the valve suffered overheats and held up.


Nevertheless it was the only well working coal-based engine and after it was presented in 1862 at the Paris World Exhibition its popularity grew. Only in 1964 there were made 300 Lenouar engines. Having become rich Lenouar stopped further attempts to improve the invention and it was soon inevitably replaced by more perfect coal gas engine model devised by inventor from Germany, August Otto.

Combustion engine history: A. Otto 4-stroke engine invention and his coal gas engine model.
An outstanding role in developing combustion engine belongs to German inventor Nikolai-August Otto (1832-1891) from Köln. Working together with rich engineer Eugeniy Langen (1833-1895) Otto managed to improve the idea of E.Lenouar coal engine model.

Examining Lanouar’s engine Otto came to the conclusion that its output could be increased if to spark the gas mixture at pistons highest position not at its middle as Lenouar had made. But there was an obstacle – how to fill the cylinder chamber with fuel mixture before a piston starts its stroke down? Otto inflated the chamber with gas, rotating the shaft and switched on the ignition right at the moment when the piston came back to the highest position! The result was surprising – the shaft sharply grown in speed while using the initial way of sparking at the middle had produced fewer rotations. That was the birth of 4-cycle engine. Though Otto assumed the shaft speed increase was the result of gas mixture prolonged expansion while burning. But indeed it was mainly caused by gas mixture more compressed state after the piston made its two strokes down and up before sparking. Nevertheless this does not diminish the importance of the invention and Otto’s deserve.

In 1864 August Otto took out the patent for his first coal gas engine and together with Langen created a company - “Otto and Company”. It took them 15 years to construct his main invention – 4-cycle engine. In 1877 Otto got the patent for this invention. The engine was named “4-stroke engine” as the working process in it included 4 piston strokes and 2 crankshaft rotations accordingly. Otto and Langen were not well adept at electrical engineering so their 4-cycle engine’s ignition was carried out by constantly burning gas jet. At the proper moment a slide enabled the access between sparking chamber and the cylinder and the gas jet sparked the gas mixture in a cylinder chamber. Currently slide distribution and burner ignition are out of use though the 4-cycle engine working process preserved all its features. Almost every modern combustion engine uses this working principle.

The main achievement of Otto’s engine is its increased coefficient of efficiency that came up to 15% while Lenouar’s engine has just 4% ratio. Otto’s 4-cycle engine was superb in this relation to steam engines as well. The only disadvantages of Otto’s engine were its big mass and small speed. With crankshaft 180 revo the engine often stuck in stoppages and quick deterioration. More over coal gas reserve demanded spacious tankage given coal gas factories were rather few. Considering this the application range of the invention was limited therefore Otto’s engine succeeded mainly for stationary industrial purposes not in automobile field.

Though the public demand for Otto engine was constantly considerable and 42 000 of them were produced and sold by 1897.

Marcus, a motor carriage that was manufactured by Liechtenstein machine works in Adamov, Austria-Hungary in 1875-1888.

Siegfried Marcus was born in 1831 in Malchein in Mecklenburg. He worked as a mechanic at Siemens I Halske firm in Berlin. In 1852 he moved to Vienna, where he worked for some time at Vienna University. Since 1860 he got an opportunity to dedicate all his work to his primary interests – first of all electromechanics.

He solved many engineering problems and took out several patents. He got 38 patents in Austria-Hungary and even more in other countries. The magneto-electric ignition Marcus invented in 1864 won popularity and later on it was used for internal-combustion engines. Marcus carburetor patented in 1865 was first used for air-cooled engine produced by Langen I Wolf firm, later for the one he constructed.

At that time the air-cooled engines were considered obsolete, so Marcus took a great interest in the new invention of Nikolaus Otto. For designing an improved internal-combustion engine Marcus found a manufacturer in Vienna, a Polish aircraft designer plus an aviator, and a firm titled Marky, Bromovsky I Schulz in Prague.

Marcus adjusted the one-cylinder four-stroke engine for a motor carriage. This way one of the very first petrol automobiles appeared, capable of moving independently.
Its body was constructed of a wooden frame with two crossbeams. The front axle made of steel turned around the steering prop. Its cushioning was provided by two semi-elliptical springs. The rear axle was hard installed on two bearings, cushioned only by rubber silentblocks. The brake block worked against the steel bands of the rear wheels.

Its one-cylinder engine of 1570 cubic centimeters volume made up to 0.73 kW (1 horsepower) at 300 rpm. The revolutions were regulated with a valve. The cooling was provided by the natural circulation of water coming from a reservoir located under the back-seat.

In 1898 this self-propelled carriage was purchased by the Austrian club of motor-car enthusiasts. This vehicle is still in working order and is exhibited at the automobile museum of Vienna.