THE FIRST CAR: SELF PROPELLED 1769

Nicolas Cugnot, a French military engineer developed a steam powered road-vehicle for the French army to haul heavy cannons.

Using a steam engine fixed to a three-wheeled cart, Cugnot successfully converted the back-and-forth action of a steam piston into rotary motion.

The truck reputedly reached walking speed and carried four tonnes. The army later abandoned his invention.