Who invented the internal combustion engine in 1885?

No single person invented the internal combustion engine in 1885. That year, Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler—working with Wilhelm Maybach—independently built pioneering, high-speed gasoline engines: Benz for his three-wheeled Motorwagen, and Daimler/Maybach for their compact “Grandfather Clock” engine used in the first true motorcycle. The internal combustion engine itself, however, had been invented decades earlier and refined by figures such as Étienne Lenoir (1860) and Nicolaus Otto (1876).

What exactly happened in 1885?

Two parallel breakthroughs in Germany made 1885 a landmark year for gasoline engines and self-propelled vehicles, even though the core idea of internal combustion was already established.

Karl Benz and the Patent-Motorwagen

Karl Benz completed a purpose-built, single-cylinder, four-stroke gasoline engine integrated into a lightweight three-wheeled vehicle—the Benz Patent-Motorwagen—in 1885. He applied for and received a patent in 1886 (DRP 37435). Benz’s design focused on making a roadworthy automobile powered by an internal combustion engine, yielding one of the earliest practical cars.

Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach, and the “Grandfather Clock”

Gottlieb Daimler and his chief engineer Wilhelm Maybach devised a compact, high-speed, single-cylinder gasoline engine in 1885, nicknamed the “Grandfather Clock” for its tall, narrow profile. They installed it that year in the Reitwagen—widely regarded as the first true motorcycle—and soon after adapted it for boats and carriages. Their work was crucial in making internal combustion engines smaller, faster-running, and versatile.

Who invented the internal combustion engine, then?

The internal combustion engine emerged through decades of experimentation and improvement across several countries. Long before 1885, inventors had built and commercialized internal combustion engines running on various fuels, with major milestones laying the groundwork for Benz and Daimler/Maybach.

The following timeline outlines key steps that led to the 1885 breakthroughs and clarifies why multiple names are associated with “invention” and “firsts.”

1. 1860 — Étienne Lenoir (France/Belgium): Builds the first commercially successful internal combustion engine powered by coal gas, proving practical non–steam motive power.
2. 1876 — Nicolaus Otto (Germany): Develops the four-stroke “Otto cycle” engine, dramatically improving efficiency and establishing the cycle modern gasoline engines still use.
3. 1878 — Dugald Clerk (Scotland): Creates the first successful two-stroke internal combustion engine, another foundational branch of engine design.
4. Early 1880s — Siegfried Marcus (Austria): Experiments with gasoline-powered vehicles; contributions are debated but influential in the period’s rapid progress.
5. 1885 — Karl Benz (Germany): Completes an integrated automobile powered by his single-cylinder, four-stroke gasoline engine, leading to the 1886 patent for the Motorwagen.
6. 1885 — Gottlieb Daimler & Wilhelm Maybach (Germany): Build a compact, high-speed gasoline engine and deploy it in the Reitwagen motorcycle, then in boats and carriages.

Together, these steps show that the “invention” was not a single event in 1885 but a progression, with 1885 marking a pivotal moment when small, fast gasoline engines met practical vehicle design.

Why the confusion about 1885?

Popular summaries often compress the story. Schoolbook or quiz-style questions sometimes cite 1885 and credit either Karl Benz—because his Motorwagen became a template for the modern car—or Gottlieb Daimler (with Wilhelm Maybach) for creating a compact, high-speed gasoline engine and the first motorcycle. In scholarly and historical accounts, credit is distributed: Lenoir and Otto for core engine concepts, and Benz and Daimler/Maybach for making the technology practical for vehicles.

Bottom line

If the question is about who “invented the internal combustion engine,” the answer predates 1885 (notably Lenoir and Otto). If it specifically refers to landmark gasoline engines and vehicles built in 1885, the key names are Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler—alongside Wilhelm Maybach—working independently on breakthrough designs that propelled the automobile and motorcycle era.

Summary

In 1885, Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler (with Wilhelm Maybach) independently produced groundbreaking gasoline internal combustion engines—the former for the Motorwagen and the latter for the compact “Grandfather Clock” used in the first motorcycle. The internal combustion engine itself, however, was invented earlier and refined through milestones by Étienne Lenoir, Nicolaus Otto, and others, making 1885 a capstone year rather than the origin.

What fuel did the first car run on?

The very first self-propelled vehicles used steam as their fuel, with Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot building the first steam-powered vehicle in 1769. However, the first successful and practical automobile, Karl Benz’s Patent-Motorwagen in 1886, ran on a petroleum-based fuel. Early in the history of automobiles, other fuels were also used, including electricity for some cars in the 1880s and 1890s, and gasoline, which was a less valuable byproduct of kerosene production before the invention of the car made it a valuable fuel commodity. 
Early Vehicles and Their Fuels

• Steam-Powered Vehicles: Before the internal combustion engine, steam was the primary fuel source for early road vehicles. The earliest examples, such as Cugnot’s steam-powered tricycle (1769), utilized steam to power the vehicle. 
• Petroleum-Fueled Cars: Karl Benz’s 1886 Patent-Motorwagen, considered the first practical automobile, was powered by a petroleum-fueled internal combustion engine. He used a fuel called Ligroin to power his engine. 
• Early Alternatives: Other fuels were also tested and used for early cars, including: 
  • Electricity: Some early cars in the late 19th century ran on electricity, as demonstrated by Gustave Trouvé in 1881. 
  • Gasoline: Though initially a discarded byproduct of kerosene production, gasoline quickly became the dominant fuel for internal combustion engines after the invention of the automobile. 
  • Other Petroleum Products: In the early days, drivers could also purchase gasoline from general stores, or run their engines on kerosene or turpentine. 

Who invented the original internal combustion engine?

There wasn’t a single inventor of the internal combustion engine, but rather a series of significant contributions over time. Étienne Lenoir built the first commercially successful internal combustion engine in 1860, and Nikolaus Otto developed the first practical four-stroke engine in 1876, which became the model for most modern internal combustion engines. 
Early Concepts & Prototypes

• Christian Huygens (17th century): Proposed an engine powered by gunpowder to create a vacuum. 
• Barsanti–Matteucci engine (1850s): An Italian design that used the vacuum from gas combustion to pull a piston down. 
• Lenoir Engine (1860): Étienne Lenoir created a double-acting, spark-ignition engine that ran on coal gas, becoming the first commercially viable internal combustion engine. 

The Four-Stroke Cycle 

• Nikolaus Otto (1876): Otto built the first practical four-stroke engine that was more efficient and reliable than previous designs. This design, known as the “Otto cycle,” is the basis for most modern gasoline engines.

Later Developments

• Gottlieb Daimler: Opens in new tabPatented a four-stroke internal combustion engine and was the first to put one in a four-wheeled vehicle. 
• Rudolf Diesel (1890s): Opens in new tabDeveloped the diesel engine, which uses compression to ignite fuel rather than a spark plug. 

How much did a car cost in 1885?

The Benz Patent-Motorwagen, built in 1885 and considered the world’s first production automobile, cost approximately 600 German marks, which was equivalent to about $150 US dollars at the time. This cost is roughly equivalent to $5,200 in 2024 dollars.
 
About the Benz Patent-Motorwagen

• First Practical Car: Built by German engineer Karl Benz, it was the first automobile designed to be powered by an internal combustion engine. 
• Production: Benz began selling the vehicle in 1886, marking the beginning of the world’s first car production. 
• Revolutionary: The invention was a major step forward, as it was the first vehicle that was truly a practical, self-propelled “patent motorcar”. 

Who was the first man to drive a car?

The first person to drive a car over a significant distance was Bertha Benz in 1888, when she undertook a 65-mile journey with her two sons in her husband Carl Benz’s newly patented automobile, proving the vehicle’s capabilities and bringing it much-needed publicity and sales for the budding company. While her husband, Carl Benz, held the patent for the first gasoline-powered car and drove it on short excursions, Bertha’s independent journey demonstrated the long-term feasibility of the new technology.
 
Key Facts

• Carl Benz: Patented the first automobile in 1886, a three-wheeled vehicle powered by a gas engine. 
• Bertha Benz: Made the world’s first long-distance trip in the Benz Patent-Motorwagen in August 1888, without her husband’s knowledge. 
• The Journey: Bertha drove from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, and back, a total distance of about 105 km (65 miles). 
• Contributions: During the trip, she invented brake lining, cleaned a blocked fuel line with her hatpin, and insulated an ignition wire with her garter, proving the car’s practicality and ingenuity. 
• Impact: Her journey brought worldwide attention to the automobile, leading to the first sales and establishing the Benz Patent-Motorwagen as a viable commercial product.