You’re looking at the height of technology in 1885: the Benz Patent Motorwagen, built by Karl Benz (of Mercedes Benz fame). It may not look particularly ‘swag’ to us, but this vehicle is widely regarded as the world’s first production automobile.

It was ground-breaking at the time, but the Benz Patent-Motorwagen was still a rather fragile alternative to the horse-drawn carriages that Benz sought to compete with. The Patent-Motorwagen was constructed of steel tubing with woodwork panels and had steel-spoked wheels with solid rubber tires of Benz’ design. A three-wheeled carriage was powered by a 0.95-litre engine, which gave the “car” a top speed of just under 10mph.

Hey, we didn’t say it was race-ready, but if it’s the first step on the ladder towards a car that Lewis Hamilton can soar around Imola in 1:14.411 for pole position in 2021, it’s a good start!