Modern Times

Competition is fierce, between inventors, between manufacturers, and between states claiming primacy.

Gustave Trouvé's electric tricycle from 1881 can lay claim to this title.

Carl Benz's 1885 0.9 hp tricycle , the subject of patent DRP 37435 dated January 29, 1886, is considered by some to be the first true automobile, since it is combustion-engined (as opposed to steam- and electrically-powered) and designed as a whole.

A comparison of the two rivals in the excellent "Historic Corner" section of the EAEC European Automobile Engineers Cooperation Newsletter 02 of 2010.

The famous electric Lohner-Porsche of 1900, known in France as the "Toujours Contente" (by antinomy with the "Jamais Contente", see below) was equipped with front-wheel motors.

It was upgraded to 4-wheel drive for greater hill-climbing capability, with a 1.8t lead-acid battery, and then with the addition of an internal combustion engine to increase range.

Two water-cooled 3.5 hp De Dion-Bouton gasoline engines drove two generators, each supplying 20 amps at 90 volts. This was the first series hybrid.

The motor-wheel design not only simplifies the transmission, but also solves the problem of transmission-suspension-steering compatibility.
Here's an interesting history of 4-wheel drive in the USA in the early 20th century.  
  

From 1896 onwards, Arthur Krebs, as managing director of Panhard-Levassor, invented many indispensable devices:

  • the front axle with caster (see opposite)
  • the steering wheel
  • non-reversible steering
  • progressive hydraulic damper
  • Flector elastic transmission coupling
  • multi-plate clutch
  • automatic carburetor diaphragm
  • electric brake for engine test bench
  • worm gear differential
  • balancing 4-cylinder engines
  • 3-point engine suspension
  • electro-magnetic gearboxes
  • not to mention notable inventions for submarines and airships...
  • He participated in numerous vehicle studies, including the 1911 Chatillon-Panhard tractor with 4-wheel drive and steering.
  • he was one of the players in the SELDEN trial in New York (1905-1911), alongside Henry Ford, on the validity of patents,
  • Finally, he inspired Jules Verne to create the character of Robur the Conqueror.
La Jamais Contente, the first 100 km/h car in 1901, electric, with a rigid axle and 2 motors, reconstituted by Venturi at the 2010 Mondial.
30 passengers with two horses, and 40 with 3 - great energy performance for the Parisian horse-drawn streetcar around 1905.
In 1907, Pierre Souvestre wrote a magnificent 800-page "History of the Automobile".