The first stationary gasoline engine developed by Carl Benz was a one-cylinder two-stroke unit which ran for the first time on New Year’s Eve 1879.
Mr. Benz had so much commercial success with this engine that he was able to devote more time to his dream of creating a lightweight car powered by a gasoline engine, in which the chassis and engine formed a single unit.
The major features of the two-seater vehicle, which was completed in 1885, were the compact high-speed single-cylinder four-stroke engine installed horizontally at the rear, the tubular steel frame, the differential and three wire-spoked wheels.
The engine output was 0.75 hp (0.55 kW).
Details included an automatic intake slide, a controlled exhaust valve, high-voltage electrical vibrator ignition with spark plug and water/thermo siphon evaporation cooling.
