January 29th 1886

The invention of the horseless carriage.

On this day in history, Karl Benz introduced the vehicle that was propelled by a motor. And was awarded the German patent number 37435. But little did he know that  Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. Who where only 62 miles away, where working on the same project. Karl Benz narrowly beat them to the patent but would later merge companies.

The vehicle was essentially a motorized tricycle.

It was a 1600cc engine and boasted an average speed of 8mph

The new owners of this vehicle could only purchase fuel at pharmacies in small quantities, which was sold as a cleaning product.