Concurrent with the Michelin Challenge Bibendum rallies for “green” vehicles, held in Berlin at the Templehof airport was a celebration of 125 years of the automobile. On display was an example of the first car from 1886 – the Benz with its single-cylinder petrol engine and seats for two. Also on show was a Michelin L’éclair built in 1895 by the Michelin brothers sporting the world’s first pneumatic tyres. A Ford Model T, first made using mass production methods in 1908 made history by being the biggest selling car right until 1972. In 1899 the Jamais Contente was an all-electric vehicle that could top 100 km/h while the Lohner Porsche from the same year had both petrol and electric power. Then there was the Slaby-Beringer which started with a plastic body and electric drive although the later model displayed used a two-stroke single and a unitary wooden structure. The 1935 Opel Olympia named after the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin, was the first German car to use monocoque construction, saving 180 kg of body mass. Other important cars on display were the VW Beetle, the Citroen 2CV, the 1967 NSU RO80, one ofthe world’s first Wankel-engined car, Mazda being the other.
125 years of the automobile
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