Monday, March 13, 2017

1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen -- March 13, 2017


We visited the Blackhawk Museum in June, 2013 to drool over their collection of classic autos.They hosted a working reproduction of the 1886 Benz Patent Motorwagen, the first automobile available for sale.  Karl Benz and his associates in Mannheim built the tricycle with a four-stroke, one-cylinder gasolene engine.  It has a single speed transmission with no reverse gear.

Karl's wife Bertha drove the car 106km to visit her mother, demonstrating that a woman, accompanied only by two children, could operate such a vehicle.  Benz sold about 25 Motorwagens.  Later models had reverse gears. 


Single cylinder engines need large flywheels. 

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