1801 : Britain’s steam powered cars
Richard Trevithick improved the design of steam engines, by making smaller and lighter with stronger boilers generating more power. In 1801, he put one of his new compact steam engines on wheels.
His ‘road locomotive’ - known as the Puffing Devil – was the first horseless carriage to transport passengers. Innovations like hand brakes, gears, and steering improvements were developed in subsequent decades.
BRITISH CARS: STEAM POWERED 1801
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.
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