This Week In Automotive History: Karl Benz Patents Gas-Powered Automobile

Filed under: Famous Cars, Automotive Design This week in 1886, the German engine designer Karl Benz patented the Benz Patent Motorwagen, widely considered the world’s first car.This week in 1886, the German engine designer Karl Benz patented the Benz Patent Motorwagen, widely considered the world’s first car. Benz emerged from a childhood spent mostly in poverty to become a highly educated mechanical engineer. Though his early businesses were unsuccessful and he had trouble finding a job that was a good fit, Benz never lost passion for his hobbies of riding his bicycle and thinking up designs for …