PrintBoth men - 48-year-old Gottlieb Daimler, a baker’s son, and Wilhelm Maybach, an orphan 12 years his junior - do not wish to be disturbed. The engineers work day and night in the strictest of secrecy, mull over plans and draw designs. In 1883, one year after moving into the workshop in the summerhouse, Daimler and Maybach presented their new invention: The world’s first small, high-speed petrol engine - based on the invention of Nikolaus Otto. In 1876, Otto built a four-stroke gas engine in which the fuel-air mixture was compressed prior to ignition.
Background Automobile - Airbag - ABS
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Wilhelm Maybach |
To date practically no changes have been made to this method. But the gas engines back then can now only be used in factories and are unusable for mobile transportation. Daimler and Maybach rebuilt the engine, used petrol as a fuel and thus were no longer dependent on gas.
The new engine literally ushered in a new era for mobility: Two years later, on 10 November 1885, the citizens of the Baden-Württemberg town of Bad Canstatt witnessed a miracle: The world’s first motorbike rattled with an ear-splitting noise through the streets. The engine-powered vehicle with iron-studded wooden wheels nailed was driven by Paul Daimler, the son of the inventor. The maiden trip of the so-dubbed ‘riding wagon’ covered the three kilometre route between Bad Canstatt and Untertürkheim – with 0.5 horsepower and 12 kilometres per hour in second gear.
Daimler had revolutionised engine construction and man’s dream of faster and more convenient transportation was close to being realised. The triumphant procession of the combustion engine was unstoppable. Daimler built a motor boat for Prince Otto von Bismarck and enhanced this design to produce an airship. The step towards the first car was not far off.
Daimler had revolutionised engine construction and man’s dream of faster and more convenient transportation was close to being realised. The triumphant procession of the combustion engine was unstoppable. Daimler built a motor boat for Prince Otto von Bismarck and enhanced this design to produce an airship. The step towards the first car was not far off.
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Horch 930 S Foto: Audi AG |
In 1886, Daimler constructed a motor coach together with Maybach. The first driving attempts were successful and Daimler became the father of the world’s first functioning four-wheel automobile. Just a few kilometres away, the design engineer Carl Friedrich Benz presented his patent motor car in the same year. Two things made this invention stand out from the Daimler motor coach: Benz’ engine and chassis formed an organic unit and Benz’ model only had three wheels because Benz had difficulties with the steering.
The German citizens still had trouble believing in this pioneering and world-changing invention. People sniggered at the vehicles of Daimler and Benz. Kaiser Wilhelm II put this incredulity into words: “I believe in horses. The automobile is a transient phenomenon”. In spite of all prophecies of doom, the car continued to drive and drive and drive.
To date engines worldwide bear the name of their German inventors: Nikolaus Otto and Rudolf Diesel. In 1897, engineer Diesel invented an engine which didn’t need any petrol but worked with cheaper heavy oil. German automobile pioneers such as August Horch, Ferdinand Porsche or Adam Opel made cars faster, more comfortable – and above all safer.
August Horch devoted almost his entire life to the automobile. The racing driver and engineer developed the first shock-resistant engine in 1901. He invented the cardan shaft, the light metal gears and left-hand drive. Following an argument with the supervisory board of his company A. Horch & Cie. Motoren-Werke AG, he founded a second company in 1909. This company was not allowed to use the name Horch, so Horch simply translated his name into Latin (“Audi”) and christened his new company Audiwerke GmbH. As the first automobile plant in Germany, the Audi works presented a left-hand-drive production car in 1921 in the form of the Audi Type K.
The young design engineer and test driver Ferdinand Porsche came from Austria to Germany and founded his own engineering office in Stuttgart in 1931. Porsche was ambitious and his dream was mass motorisation. The National Socialist regime commissioned him to design the “Volkswagen” or “people’s car”. Porsche didn’t build his own cars until after the Second World War. The first Porsche, Type 356 No. 1, already had aluminium bodywork, an aluminium crankcase and cylinder heads.
The German citizens still had trouble believing in this pioneering and world-changing invention. People sniggered at the vehicles of Daimler and Benz. Kaiser Wilhelm II put this incredulity into words: “I believe in horses. The automobile is a transient phenomenon”. In spite of all prophecies of doom, the car continued to drive and drive and drive.
To date engines worldwide bear the name of their German inventors: Nikolaus Otto and Rudolf Diesel. In 1897, engineer Diesel invented an engine which didn’t need any petrol but worked with cheaper heavy oil. German automobile pioneers such as August Horch, Ferdinand Porsche or Adam Opel made cars faster, more comfortable – and above all safer.
August Horch devoted almost his entire life to the automobile. The racing driver and engineer developed the first shock-resistant engine in 1901. He invented the cardan shaft, the light metal gears and left-hand drive. Following an argument with the supervisory board of his company A. Horch & Cie. Motoren-Werke AG, he founded a second company in 1909. This company was not allowed to use the name Horch, so Horch simply translated his name into Latin (“Audi”) and christened his new company Audiwerke GmbH. As the first automobile plant in Germany, the Audi works presented a left-hand-drive production car in 1921 in the form of the Audi Type K.
The young design engineer and test driver Ferdinand Porsche came from Austria to Germany and founded his own engineering office in Stuttgart in 1931. Porsche was ambitious and his dream was mass motorisation. The National Socialist regime commissioned him to design the “Volkswagen” or “people’s car”. Porsche didn’t build his own cars until after the Second World War. The first Porsche, Type 356 No. 1, already had aluminium bodywork, an aluminium crankcase and cylinder heads.
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The soccer stars Ronaldo, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Zinedine Zidane und Sebastian Schweinsteiger attended the unveiling together with Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Executive Chairman of AUDI AG. Photo: AUDI AG |
Daimler, Benz, Maybach, Horch – Germany’s great inventors dreamed up inventions without which today’s cars would no longer be conceivable: ABS, ASR, ESP, ACC. The car has been given a whole range of electronic aids. Many of these lifesaving inventions are today developed or manufactured in Germany. The Audi quattro drive, which was originally developed for rally sport, also ensures increased safety. Particularly vehicles with powerful engines are made safer with this permanent all-wheel drive.
Saving lives is also the purpose of an airbag, the development of which began around 80 years ago in the aviation industry. In 1920, Arthur Hughes Parrott and Harold Round acquired a patent for an air cushion which was designed to protect aircraft passengers in a collision from severe injuries. However, the air cushion remained permanently inflated, but is nonetheless regarded as the predecessor for the modern airbag, which does not unfold to directly protect the driver or passenger until the event of a collision. The first driver airbag was produced by Petri AG in 1981 for Mercedes-Benz and was followed in 1985 by the passenger airbag and in 1995 by the side airbag.
The anti-lock braking system is also a product of the aviation industry. In 1920, the French automobile and aircraft pioneer Gabriel Voisin installed a hydraulic brake-blocking preventer in an aircraft. This stopped the aircraft from swerving off its path during the landing. In 1936, the Bosch company published a patent for a device which prevented the blocking of car wheels during braking. The devices consisted of 1,000 analogue components and were very slow. Thanks to digital technology, the quantity of components could be reduced to approximately 140 – and ABS was ready for series production.
Saving lives is also the purpose of an airbag, the development of which began around 80 years ago in the aviation industry. In 1920, Arthur Hughes Parrott and Harold Round acquired a patent for an air cushion which was designed to protect aircraft passengers in a collision from severe injuries. However, the air cushion remained permanently inflated, but is nonetheless regarded as the predecessor for the modern airbag, which does not unfold to directly protect the driver or passenger until the event of a collision. The first driver airbag was produced by Petri AG in 1981 for Mercedes-Benz and was followed in 1985 by the passenger airbag and in 1995 by the side airbag.
The anti-lock braking system is also a product of the aviation industry. In 1920, the French automobile and aircraft pioneer Gabriel Voisin installed a hydraulic brake-blocking preventer in an aircraft. This stopped the aircraft from swerving off its path during the landing. In 1936, the Bosch company published a patent for a device which prevented the blocking of car wheels during braking. The devices consisted of 1,000 analogue components and were very slow. Thanks to digital technology, the quantity of components could be reduced to approximately 140 – and ABS was ready for series production.
The end of the era of Otto and Diesel engines beneath the bonnet is approaching. It will take quite a while for these engines to be ultimately replaced, but the competition for the best solutions has long since been launched in the research laboratories of the automobile industry. The German manufacturers believe that hydrogen is the energy source of the future because it can be produced from regenerative sources in an environmentally friendly manner. Production of the first test vehicles using the fuel cell is underway – however, it is unlikely that such vehicles will be ready for series production before 2020.
As long as people are behind the wheel, efforts will continue to be made to enhance passenger safety: As early as next year, accidents will be heard by crash sensors: This technology will hear the crash in milliseconds, recognise its severity and transmit it to the control systems of airbag and belt tightener.
There is no risk that engineers and tuning freaks will run out of ideas for cars. After all, the German Association of the Automobile Industry (VDA) counted over 3,000 European patent applications from German automobile companies in 2004 alone.
As long as people are behind the wheel, efforts will continue to be made to enhance passenger safety: As early as next year, accidents will be heard by crash sensors: This technology will hear the crash in milliseconds, recognise its severity and transmit it to the control systems of airbag and belt tightener.
There is no risk that engineers and tuning freaks will run out of ideas for cars. After all, the German Association of the Automobile Industry (VDA) counted over 3,000 European patent applications from German automobile companies in 2004 alone.
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