It's time to touch on such a popular question: as well as who and when invented it. We have already found out who invented the first car in the world, but our craftsmen are only 10 years behind Henry Ford and Gottlieb Daimler.
The very first Russian car created by two inventors, then living in St. Petersburg - Yakovlev Evgeny Alexandrovich, a retired lieutenant in the Russian navy, and Frese Pyotr Alexandrovich, mining engineer. It was in St. Petersburg that the first self-propelled carriage in Russia was created. It was presented to the public at the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition, which took place in June 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod. According to the creators of the first Russian car themselves, they created it a little earlier - in May of the same year.
But following the letter of the law, it is known that everyone saw it in June at an exhibition in 1896. This is confirmed by a report in the St. Petersburg newspaper Novoye Vremya, which appeared on June 8, 1896. It is also known that the first Russian car was equipped with a body for two passengers, while weighing 300 kg and could reach speeds of up to 20 km / h.
Yakovlev in 1891 founded in St. Petersburg on Bolshaya Spasskaya Street "The First Russian Plant of Gas and Kerosene Engines by E. A. Yakovlev", now it is called "Volcano". And Petr Frese owned a Joint Stock Company, which produced Frese and Co. crews. It was located at St. Petersburg, Ertelev lane house 10 (now it is Chekhov street)
E. Yakovlev made for the first Russian car an engine with one horizontal cylinder, and a transmission consisting of a differential and two-stage box gears. The engine had a power of 2 Horse power s. Producing these inventions, Yakovlev used the experience of Karl Benz. It is worth noting that other car makers of those years from France, the USA, Germany and many other countries did the same.
An interesting fact: the first car on the streets of St. Petersburg was the Benz, a four-seat Victoria model.
The first Russian automobile plants.
At the dawn of the growth of the automotive industry in Russia, there were almost no full-cycle automobile plants. Almost all factories produced only chassis and motor base. In order to receive full car it was necessary to buy a chassis and deliver it to the factory for the production of carriages, where, taking into account your wishes, they created the car body. At that time, the body was called "carosseri".
However, it should be said that Russian carosseri were highly valued even abroad. Bodies produced by Russian factories many times received the highest awards at prestigious international car exhibitions in the period from 1907 to 1913 held in Russia.
For example, at the first of these exhibitions, held in 1907, a large gold medal was awarded to car bodies firm "P. D. Yakovleva. And at the 4th International car exhibition In 1913 (Petersburg), half a dozen Mercedes cars were presented, having the bodies of the Breitigam carriage factory in the city of Petersburg.
Among the best carriage factories there were such names as Pobeda, Frese, P. D. Yakovlev”, “Bubbles” and “Otto”. But among them, only the Frese and Co factory tried to start producing trucks and cars. At the beginning of the 20th century, she created several dozen cars with a transmission and a De Dion Bouton engine, as well as the first trolleybus and train with an electric transmission. But all these inventions were never developed to complete final samples.
The first Russian automobile plant Puzyrev.
Naturally the first Russian car factory was founded in 1909. It was called "Russian Automobile Plant I.P. Puzyrev". Its creator wanted to and made a plant that made all the parts for cars himself from Russian materials, by the hands of Russian workers under the guidance of domestic engineers. Also, this plant had a goal - to invent and make a car for Russian roads. And soon it was created: the models were named "28-35" (1911) and "A28-40" (1912). These cars were simple in design. They were embedded large stock strength, but they were a bit heavy. They had great cross-country ability, thanks to the high ground clearance - 320mm.
On cars produced by the Puzyrev plant, for the first time in the world, gears in the transmission were switched using cam clutches - this is the plant's own invention. All levers for gear shifting were placed inside the body. And all the crankcases of the engine, differential and gearbox were created from aluminum. The engine developed power up to 40 hp.
At the IV International Automobile Exhibition in St. Petersburg (spring 1913), already mentioned by us, Puzyrev presented 3 cars - a closed five-seater limousine and an open seven-seat car with a torpedo body, as well as the first Russian racing car with an overhead valve engine and a sports chassis.
In the summer of 1896, the first model was presented at the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod. domestic car, a joint project of the Petr Frese carriage factory and machine-building plant Evgenia Yakovleva.
The first 20 years for our automotive industry turned out to be much more turbulent and fruitful than subsequent eras.
Yakovlev-Frese (1896)
The engineers of the first self-propelled carriage planned to put it into mass production, but the death of one of them, Yevgeny Yakovlev, put an end to the idea. His companions considered the production of cars to be unpromising and ceased cooperation with the Frese factory. He was forced to buy engines abroad, and then sold the company to the Russo-Baltic Plant, which began to produce the first mass-produced cars. The idea to assemble and produce a car in Russia came to Frese and Yakovlev back in 1893 at an exhibition in Chicago. There they saw the car of Karl Benz, which impressed them with its simple and efficient design. Russian industrialists spent three years to get around patent barriers and reinvent the wheelchair on their own. Weight finished model amounted to 300 kg. The gasoline engine contained two horsepower, allowed to drive without refueling for 10 hours and could accelerate to a speed of 21 km per hour. There were only two gears: forward and idle.
Romanov (1899)
3 years after the appearance of the first gasoline engine the first electric motor appeared. And the first electric car. It was created by Ippolit Romanov, a nobleman from Odessa. Romanov's car was much faster, but also heavier than Yakovlev-Frese's car. He accelerated to 37 km per hour with a weight of 750 kg. It is noteworthy that almost half the mass of the car was the battery. It was disposable, it was not subject to recharging and worked only 65 km: on average, it was enough for two to three hours of driving. In addition to cars, the enthusiast Romanov developed a model of an omnibus designed for 17 people, which could accelerate to 19 km per hour. Alas, Romanov's electric vehicles were not put into serial production: the engineer could not find financial support, although he received a state order for 80 models.
Dux (1902)
Russian cars ran not only on gasoline and electricity, but also on steam. Yes, they didn’t just drive, but in all respects they left behind both electric and gasoline counterparts. They seemed elegant to contemporaries, were relatively silent and faster. The first steam car (or, as it was also called, a locomobile) was assembled at the Duks enterprise. The engines of locomobiles had from 6 to 40 horsepower. The company produced not only passenger models, but also motorcycles, omnibuses, railcars, snowmobiles. racing model"Duksa" could reach speeds of up to 140 km per hour! All this was not enough for the inventor and entrepreneur Julius Meller, who owned the Dux company, and since 1910 he began to produce aircraft and airships. Gradually, with the development of aircraft construction, the automotive component of the enterprise fades into the background. And in 1918, "Dux" was nationalized and turned into the "State Aviation Plant No. 1".
Leitner, motorcycle "Russia" (1902)
In the same 1902, the first motorcycle appeared in Russia, which was called "Russia". It was assembled by the Riga industrialist Alexander Leitner. The first motorcycle was an improved bicycle equipped with a motor. The engine had a volume of 62 cubic centimeters, consumed 3.5 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers and developed top speed at 40 km per hour - at 1.75 horsepower. The first motorcycle cost three times more expensive than a bicycle: 450 rubles against, for example, 135 for a Duxa bicycle. However, this price was 10 times lower than the price passenger car: inexpensive "Renault" cost 5 thousand rubles, Russian models- even more expensive.
Cheapness in comparison with cars is relative, because 450 rubles is almost a six-month income of a Russian with an average income. therefore, the trade in the first motorcycles was sluggish, at ten units a year, and by 1908 had ceased altogether.
Lessner (1904)
What is an omnibus or a motorcycle - in 1904, the first one appeared in Russia fire engine. It was made at the Lessner company by order of the Alexander Nevsky fire department of St. Petersburg. Its designer was already at that time well-known in Russia and abroad Boris Lutsky. Back in April 1901, two of his five-ton trucks and one passenger car arranged a test drive along Nevsky Prospekt and were shown to the emperor. However, it is the two-ton fire engine "Lassner" that is considered the first car completely assembled according to Lutsky's drawings in Russia. The model was designed for 14 people of the fire brigade and developed a speed of up to 25 kilometers per hour.
Another "Lessner", a dark green limousine of 1907, became one of the inhabitants of the densely populated garage of Nicholas II, who passionately loved cars. Due to the similarity in design and appearance, this car was called the "Russian Mercedes".
Russo-Balt (1909)
The most popular car brand in Tsarist Russia was Russo-Balt, first released in 1909. There were two main engines: C and K. The first was larger, more powerful, with an estimated engine power of 24 horsepower. The second is smaller, with twelve horses under the hood.
Due to production costs, the price of the Puzyrev-28-35 car amounted to eight thousand rubles, which even exceeded the price of the expensive Russo-Balts. The car was reliable, but bulky. All this did not add to her popularity. And in the press, the patriotic car was disliked: they called it handicraft and compared it with the worst foreign models.
Bad luck added to the failures in the market. In January 1914, a fire broke out at the Puzyrev plant, destroying eight assembled machines and fifteen sets of parts ready for assembly. And in September, the patriotic engineer died.
Any event that in one way or another gave impetus to the development of a fundamentally new type of activity is sooner or later regarded as historical. To establish its authenticity and exact time what happened are usually based on documentary evidence. The public of Russia relatively recently celebrated the 100th anniversary of the appearance of the first domestic car with engines internal combustion. But before celebrating the round date of the event that gave rise to the automotive industry in Russia, it would be necessary to collect information that would allow us to confidently assert the fact, time and place of this event.
Unfortunately, for a long time studies of the development of the automotive industry in our country were not conducted. In any case, there were few publications on this topic, and they were random. At the end of the 1940s, the facts of the primacy of domestic scientists and technicians attracted the attention of domestic historians. Then it became obvious that the country, which has become a great world power in the century scientific and technological progress should have a worthy biography in this area, which would create the foundation for the image of a great power.
In 1899, the first car appeared in Moscow.
The beginning of work in this direction was the article by A.M. Kreer, published in the journal "Automotive and Tractor Industry" No. 6, 1950, in which, for the first time in the post-revolutionary period, the names of 39 Russian engineers, inventors, entrepreneurs who played important role in the formation and development of domestic automotive industry and transport, as well as the creators of the first Russian car: Evgeny Alexandrovich Yakovlev (1857-1898) and Petr Alexandrovich Frese (1844-1918).
Later N.A. Yakovlev (1955), A.S. Isaev (1961), V.I. Dubovskoy (1962), L.M. Shugurov (1971), A.I. Onoshko (1975), N.Ya. Lirman (1976), V.N. Belyaev (1981) and Ya.I. Ponomarev (1995) conducted research in this direction. special attention the find of the employee of the State Archive of the Gorky Region A.I. Onoshko. Among the glass negatives M.P. Dmitriev, a photo chronicler of the Volga region, he found a fairly clear negative of a photograph of E.A. Yakovlev and P.A. Frese, according to which later, independently of each other, V.I. Dubovskaya, Yu.A. Dolmatovsky, L.M. Shugurov and E.S. Baburin determined the dimensional ratios of the structure and the scale using the graphical-analytical method. This made it possible to determine the dimensions of the parts and in 1996 to build a working copy of the car. Its base is -1370 mm, track - 1230 mm in front and 1290 in the rear, length - 2180 mm, width - 1530 mm, height - 1440 mm (with the top folded). The analysis showed that they differ markedly from the dimensions of the Velo and Victoria models from Benz. 
At present, another photograph of the first Russian car is known, placed by A. Shustov in the album "Illustrated Bulletin of Culture and Commercial and Industrial Progress of Russia in 1900-1901." Description of kerosene engines E.A. Yakovlev, which have been produced since 1891 at his plant in St. Petersburg (B. Spasskaya st., 28), were published on the pages of the Bulletin of the Imperial Technical Society (issue XI, 1891).
A detailed description of the car itself was placed in the "Journal of Recent Inventions and Discoveries" (No. 24, 1896), which was published before the opening of the All-Russian Art and Industrial Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, which took place on May 27 (June 9), 1896.
Emperor Nicholas II, as follows from his diary, examined the exhibits for three days and on August 2 (15) examined the crew department, where he was shown a car in action. (“There’s nothing to look at, it’s better abroad.”) 
What was said by the king, the anointed of God, was perceived as the ultimate truth. The emperor did not appreciate the first car in Russia.
At the Nizhny Novgorod fair, the hopes of the creators of the first Russian car collapsed. The engine of the Yakovlev system brought the designer a silver award, the crew of the Frese and K company was also awarded a silver medal, and their main exhibit, the car, was almost never mentioned anywhere. As if he was not at the exhibition. Perhaps irritation and resentment, lack of support prompted Evgeny Yakovlev and Petr Frese to the idea of getting rid of their creation.
Invention of the first automobile
The history of the first Russian car began in 1893 in Chicago, at the world exhibition, where the Benz car of the Velo model was demonstrated. He attracted the attention of two Petersburgers presenting their products here. What is interesting: for the first time they met only at the exhibition. They were the owner of a kerosene plant and gas engines Yevgeny Alexandrovich Yakovlev and Peter Alexandrovich Frese, manager of the horse-drawn carriage factory. The decision to jointly produce a similar "self-running carriage" suggested itself. And three years later, in 1896, the first Russian production car was presented to the general public.
It is easy to guess that the engine and transmission were manufactured by the Yakovlev plant, and the body, chassis and wheels - by the Frese factory. Naturally, this car was very similar to the design of Benz and appearance, and constructive solutions. However, it was not a repetition of the German design, but its original design. The drawings were not preserved, and historians restored the parameters of the car according to the available photographs and descriptions. 
What was this design?
Both in appearance and design, the first Russian car strongly resembled the Benz-Velo, as well as the Richard-Duc car produced in France under license from Benz.
The equipment of the car included a folding leather top, a horn with a rubber pear, lanterns with candles. For turning, a steering lever on a column mounted vertically in front of the seat served.
The layout is rear-engined. Engine - 2 hp. with., four-stroke, with one horizontally located cylinder. (The Benz had a power of 1.5 hp.) Water was used to cool the cylinder, and the heat exchangers were two brass containers placed along the sides at the rear of the car. The ignition of the mixture was electric (dry cell battery and patented candle), while many engines of those years used a glow tube. The carburetor was the simplest, the so-called evaporation type (as opposed to modern spray-type carburetors). Its body in the form of a high cylinder was located in the rear left corner of the body. As with all other Yakovlev engines, Exhaust valve had mechanical drive, A inlet valve acted, as they said then, "automatically" i.e. from discharging. In front of the engine (it was located at rear wheels) under the seat of the driver and passenger passed a transverse drive shaft with a differential. The sprockets mounted on its ends through the chains transmitted rotation to the driven sprockets connected to the spokes of the rear drive wheels by six stepladders each. Judging by the ratio of the diameters of the chain sprockets visible in the surviving photographs of the Russian car, gear ratio main gear was about 5.45. The car had two brakes. Hand brake(from a lever located at the left side of the body) acted on the tires of the rear wheels, pressing tiny brake pads. It was this brake, according to modern terminology, that was the worker, and the other, the foot brake, played an auxiliary role and acted on the drive shaft of the transmission.
Car "Russo-Balt" model 1910 in the State Polytechnic Museum in Moscow.
The gearbox is similar to the Benz one, but the leather belts have been replaced with more reliable ones made of multi-layered rubberized fabric. There were two forward gears and an idle mode. Reverse gear was absent. Features of the belt drive made it possible to do without a clutch. The transmission was a very unusual design from a modern point of view. From the box, the force was transmitted to the differential with transverse drive shafts, from which, through two chain (bicycle) gears, the drive wheels rotated. That is, the cross-axle differential was not between the wheels, but somewhat in front of them. There were two brakes. The main (foot) acted on the drive shaft of the gearbox. The other (manual) pressed the rubber bars against the tires of the rear wheels. The gears were switched on by levers placed on the racks to the left and right of the steering column, there was no reverse gear. Yakovlev and Frese's car was not just a copy german model, despite the fact that by 1896 four "Benzes" were already driving around St. Petersburg: two - the "Velo" models and two - "Victoria". In fairness, it should be noted the difference between Russian and German cars in the engine steering, in the design of the wheels and other parts. In addition, the first "Benz-Velo" arrived in St. Petersburg in May 1895, when even a detailed acquaintance with its device could not affect the constructive basic decisions of Yakovlev and Frese. 
The undercarriage of the car, made by the Frese factory, had a lot in common with horse-drawn carriages. The body was double, open, with a folding cloth top. In general, the whole structure was very reminiscent of a span without irradiation (the place where the coachman sat) both in appearance and in design. The suspension used full elliptical springs (they are also called "carriage"). Wheels - wooden, rear - more than the front, with solid rubber tires. The wheel hubs were mounted on plain bearings - a classic cart solution! front and rear axle connected the subframe, forming a kind of chassis, to which the body was attached with the help of springs. Very original done steering. The front wheels turned on pivots along with the springs.
The car weighed about 300 kg and could reach speeds of up to 21 km / h. The supply of gasoline allowed to move 10 hours. The length was 2.2 meters, width - 1.5 meters.
The first Russian car was demonstrated at the Nizhny Novgorod exhibition in 1896, where it made demonstration trips. Unfortunately, it did not arouse the interest of the officials of the Russian Empire, and the creators of the design could only rely on themselves. But both Yakovlev and Frese were not fanatic inventors, but industrialists. And already in 1897, an advertisement appeared in the Novoye Vremya newspaper with the following content: “E. A. Yakovlev’s plant offers self-propelled carriages with quick execution of orders and at reasonable prices.” Now it is impossible to establish how many cars were manufactured. One thing is for sure: the design of Yakovlev - Frese was created precisely as a serial, commercial vehicle. 
The first Russian car played the role of a kind of battering ram that broke through the wall that stood between Russian entrepreneurship and the automotive industry that was emerging in the world. Many energetic people took up this, in their opinion, promising and profitable business. In the capital St. Petersburg alone, a dozen and a half firms and enthusiasts appeared: the P. D. Yakovlev. "Iv. Breitigam”, “Victory”, joint-stock company “G. A. Lessner, as well as Skavronsky, Meise, Kryummel, Rogozin, Romanov and some others. In Moscow, P. Ilyin headed a group that began building cars in Karetny Ryad. For the construction of "motors" began in Riga, Warsaw, Yaroslavl, Nakhichevan, even in Blagoveshchensk.
“Around the neighborhood of St. Petersburg is driving mechanical crew. Its passengers pose as manufacturers and almost inventors of this machine and swear that everything to the last screw in the crew was made by them in their own workshop.
So in the spring of 1896, the incredulous press informed readers about the appearance of the first Russian car in history. And already on July 1, the "self-propelled carriage" was demonstrated at the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition, held in Nizhny Novgorod. Emperor Nicholas II personally examined the car in action.
A car designed by Yakovlev-Frese at the Nizhny Novgorod Exhibition of 1896
In the wake of the rapid industrial boom that took place in Russian Empire from the second half of the 19th century, the appearance domestic automotive industry seems to be quite organic. His pioneers are deservedly considered a retired lieutenant of the imperial fleet Evgeny Alexandrovich Yakovlev and mining engineer Petr Alexandrovich Frese who designed the car presented to the public in 1896. It should be noted that their contribution to the development of domestic industry was not limited to this: the inventors were the founders of the "First Russian Plant of Kerosene and Gas Engines by E.A. Yakovlev" and the Joint-Stock Company for the Construction of Crews "Frese and Co."
| Evgeny Alexandrovich Yakovlev (1857 - 1898) | Petr Alexandrovich Frese (1844 - 1918) |
At the dawn of the Russian automotive industry, factories with a full cycle were a relative rarity. Separate production of chassis and bodies has become more widespread. That is, the future motorist, having bought the chassis, then transferred it to the carriage factory for equipping it with a body.
It is worth saying that the products of Russian carriage factories were highly valued all over the world, as evidenced by numerous awards at international exhibitions. A special sign of quality was the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century. cars of the now legendary brand were equipped with domestic bodies "Mercedes".
"Mercedes" with a Russian body
A pioneer of full-fledged serial production in Russia of cars and trucks became Petersburg Frese factory. From 1901 to 1904 more than a hundred machines were manufactured here, including those with an electric drive; trolleybus and road train with electric transmission were tested.
Frese electric car (7hp)
Frese cars (8hp)
Frese cars (6hp)
Passenger-truck Frese for the War Department
In 1902, the factory took over the serial production of cars. joint-stock company "G. A. Lessner". The well-known Russian inventor of automobiles and engines, Boris Grigoryevich Lutskoy (Lutsky), was invited as a consultant, whose design motors began to equip the factory's products. In 1904, one of the first fire trucks in Russia was built at the plant. The production of mail vans is being established. In 1907, at the First International Automobile Exhibition in St. Petersburg, the factory demonstrated its own ambulances and was awarded the Big Gold Medal for the production and distribution of automobiles in Russia. In 1909, the plant's products included a wide range of cars and trucks of various engine sizes using original design solutions.
B.G. Lutsky driving a car of his own design
"Lessner" (12hp)
Van "Lessner" with a carrying capacity of 1200 kg, 1907
"Lessner" (22hp)
Postal vans "Lessner"
Racing "Lessner" (32hp)
Cargo "Lessner"
Fire truck "Lessner" Type 1
Fire truck "Lessner" Type 2
In 1908 on Russian-Baltic Carriage Works organized in Riga automotive department headed by Ivan Alexandrovich Fryazinovsky. Since 1909, the production of cars has begun here. well-known brand Russo-Balt. For 7 years, about 500 units were produced. The Russian-Baltic Plant also mastered the production of cars off-road: on the basis of the model "C" was released designed for winter operation half-track vehicle equipped with skis. At all, hallmark"Russo-Balts" was reliability and durability: there is a known case of a collision of a car during a rally with a log cabin, after which the car was practically not damaged. Thanks to victories in prestigious automobile competitions, the brand becomes widely known. The first ever conquest of the summit of Vesuvius by the Russo-Balt car thunders all over the world.
I.I. Ivanov and I.A. Fryazinovsky on the car "Russo-Balt C 24/55", 1913
Russo-Balt C 24/40
"Russo-Balt K12/20" Series II
"Russo-Balt S 24/58" - the legendary "Cucumber" of the second version - with a prize after setting a speed record of 128.4 km / h at the races of 1913
Russo-Balt S 24/60, 1914
Russo-Balt off-road
Russo-Balt A.Nagel, who conquered Vesuvius
He is
In 1910 was opened Russian Automobile Plant I.P. Puzyrev. Its founder considered it necessary that « Russian production it would not be only a name, but it would be really Russian " And "the plant independently produced all automotive parts from Russian material, by Russian workers and under the guidance of Russian engineers". I must say that Ivan Petrovich managed to achieve his goal by organizing almost completely independent production at the plant. Bubble sought "to develop a type of a specially Russian car that meets the requirements of moving in Russia, in relation to the peculiarities of our routes". And in 1911, the plant produced the first five-seater passenger car with a large ground clearance. The car was equipped with a gearbox of an original design for those times, developed at the Puzyrev plant and protected by a privilege. For the first time in the world, the gears in the transmission were switched on by cam clutches, and the shift levers were not outside, but inside the cabin. In fact, it was the prototype of the gearbox of modern cars. Another innovation was the use of aluminum for the crankcase, gearbox, steering gear and differential, as well as wide application ball bearings. production model 28/40 developed a decent speed for those times - up to 80 km / h.
I.P. Puzyrev
Assembly shop of the plant
Bubble-28/35
Bubble-28/40
Puzyrev-28/40 with a body of a military type
In 1913 on IV International Exhibition cars in St. Petersburg, Puzyrev presents a five-seater limousine, a seven-seater car with open body"torpedo" and racing car. According to experts, it was equipped with an advanced for its time and very compact engine.
Despite serious financial difficulties and standard for a patriotic person of those years, rejection by the "intelligent public", who called him a "handicraft manufacturer", I.P. Puzyrev managed to maintain and maintain production. Moreover, there were plans to expand it. But at the beginning of 1914, the plant suddenly burns down ... And in September, having given his last strength to the restoration of his offspring, Ivan Petrovich Puzyrev dies.
The story of the origin of the Russian automotive industry would be incomplete without mentioning the name of a recognized specialist in the field of electrical engineering and electrical machines, Ippolit Vladimirovich Romanov. He owns, among other things, the invention of a perfect for its time battery, as well as a bold project of outboard electric railway, the prototype of which (!) Has been functioning since 1899 in Gatchina.
I.Romanov electric carAnd in 1901, a prototype of an electric 17-seater omnibus appeared on the streets of the capital - a new type of urban transport. Tests have shown the reliability and safety of the machine design. IV Romanov planned to organize ten routes of electric omnibuses along the busiest highways of the city. But the City Duma refused to approve the financing of the construction of equipment.
Omnibus I.Romanova
So in in general terms looks like the history of the origin of the domestic automotive industry. Who knows, perhaps the obvious potential and excellent prospects for the industry against the background of the general industrial boom in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century could lead Russian factories among the world's leading automakers, and today the Russo-Balt and Bubble brands would be no less prestigious than Mercedes or Lexus ... But the upheavals of the 20th century made their own adjustments to the historical path of our country. Perhaps in need of reformatting Russian car industry is it worth relying on the historical foundation laid by the pioneers of the Russian automotive industry?
Story modern car began quite recently - just a few hundred years ago, and the pace of development of the automotive industry is accelerating every year. The very first cars, which most often looked like motorized carriages, developed slowly and their owners and inventors were either not taken seriously or considered very strange people who were engaged in unnecessary and incomprehensible research. However, their work was not in vain, so let's remember today what were the first cars?
What was the first car in the world
The very first car was an ordinary cart, which was equipped with a steam engine that was able to produce the power needed to move the car and the driver. Such the first steam car was created in 1768 and there was only one copy, which is quite logical, since there was simply no need for such machines.
The very idea of moving from horse-drawn carriages to mechanized carriages is a real breakthrough, which can be compared to the transition from the usual preservation of fire among cavemen to its production.
However, steam cars did not receive development due to too bulky design and inconvenience when loading fuel, and the inventors tried to come up with new version engine.
The first car with a gasoline engine
It took almost 40 years to search for new engine options, and already in 1806 the first car with an internal combustion engine was created. Its design was also not perfect, but it was more convenient to use, so it was this branch of cars that was developed.
Already 80 years later, in 1885, Karl Benz introduced the first commercially available and serial production automobile. It was very different from modern ones and the first thing that catches your eye is that it had not 4, but only 3 wheels.
Around the same time, the first motorized bicycle was invented, and a year later, the motorized cart, but Gottlieb Daimler became its inventor.
However, back to the three-wheeled miracle from Benz. This car was equipped with a 954 cm³ engine and was controlled by a T-handle. Despite the fact that this car made a splash among the world community, widespread this miracle of technology did not receive due to the huge cost of the car.
Separately, it is necessary to say a few words about the engine, since it is he who is a real breakthrough in the era of mechanical engineering. Despite the fact that his weight was about 100 kg, the best options The engine didn't exist at the time. It is worth noting that in the patent for the invention of the automobile, received by Benz, the engine power was indicated at 2/3 horsepower, although the actual power of the car was slightly higher and reached 0.9 horsepower at 400 rpm. This tricycle miracle technology could reach a speed of 16 kilometers per hour, which for that time was a very good result, and already in 1890 the car began to be mass-produced. You can see this car in operation in the video:
Four wheels instead of three
A three-wheeled car for a modern person is a curiosity and antiquity, although it was very much quoted among connoisseurs of the beauty of that era for its unusual and elegant design. But despite this, a few years after the appearance of the first car with an internal combustion engine, even Benz himself came to the conclusion that the three-wheeled car needed to be improved. Despite the fact that the four-wheeled version seemed less elegant and looked more like a carriage or cart, it was the four-wheeled car that was easier to maintain and more durable due to the lower load on front wheel. And already 3 years later, in 1893, the first four-wheeled car appeared, which in fact was a modified version of the Benz car, and was no different from his first invention.
The modifications did not end there, and in 1885 the Victoria car appeared. The improvement of the four-wheeled car created by Benz continued until 1890 and during this time more than 2300 such cars were produced and sold.
From functionality to appearance
Naturally, Benz was not the only inventor who was involved in the creation of cars. In parallel with him, Gottlieb Daimler conducted his work, who decided to approach the issue of creating a car in a slightly different way. The first models of his cars were simple horse-drawn carriages, which were driven by a motor.
Such carriages appeared back in 1886, but due to design features and too much load from a single-cylinder engine on the structure, they were extremely inconvenient, which prompted the inventor to continue working on his car.
Gottlieb Daimler himself spoke of himself as a restrained and patient designer who does not rush forward, but thinks more judiciously. Instead of modifying the current model, he primarily focused on developing own engine internal combustion, for which he soon received a patent.
At this time, his employees were also working on a new car, which was put into production in 1895 under the name "Daimler". New engines were subsequently used to produce completely revolutionary car models.
It is worth saying that by that time the first car had already been produced that could reach a speed of 80 km / h, and this happened in 1985. This car was equipped four-cylinder engine with a capacity of as much as 24 horsepower, which was a real breakthrough at that time.
However, this high-speed car was very bulky, very difficult to drive and far from the safest, so the company still had a lot of work to do.
The very first Mercedes
The Daimler company did the best job with this work, and by the end of 1890 a world-famous car appeared, which was named after the daughter of the founder of the company, Mercedes Daimler. This car, according to experts and historians, has become the prototype of modern cars.
Mercedes, with a capacity of 35 horsepower, is a real achievement and the pinnacle of the engineering skill of that time. The ignition in this car was carried out using a magnet. low voltage, the car had the ability to shift gears, and there is nothing to say about the quality of the body - it was the last know-how in the automotive industry of that era. A high-quality stamped frame made the car stronger and made it possible to apply fundamentally new techniques in the manufacture of a car body.
The brakes of the new car have become more advanced, and the car itself has become more reliable and obedient, which made it so popular among motorists. A little later, models equipped with a 5.3-liter side-valve engine were released, which also became popular and is still considered almost the best example of cars of that era.
The first car in Russia
Russia, although lagging behind foreign manufacturers cars, but still eventually realized the prospects for the development of this industry. The first car that appeared in Russia was the French handsome Panard-Levassor - french car brought to Russia in 1891 by Vasily Navrotsky. At that time, he served as editor of the Odessa Leaf newspaper. After that, interest in cars in Russia became more lively, and by the end of the year several more cars were imported into the country. However, despite this, for the first time cars on the streets of Moscow, the first cars appeared only in 1899.
At this time, the country also developed its own models of cars with an internal combustion engine and the first such stock car became Frese and Yakovlev's Car, which was first presented to the public in 1896. However, a lot of interest among the highest circles and official representatives This car did not call the Russian Empire at the fair.
This practically set the tone for the development of the automotive industry in the country, because in Russia, although they began to produce trucks and cars, they were going under license foreign companies from spare parts produced abroad. Unfortunately, until 1917 own production there were no spare parts and cars in the Russian Empire.
The situation changed after the Revolution, when the old system and the old views on pre-revolutionary life changed dramatically. Since then, mechanical engineering in Russia and the countries of the former CIS has begun its difficult path.
From mechanical carts to modern cars
The history of the automotive industry also includes several dead-end branches of development, including electric cars of the 20th century and the like, which were not directly developed, but can give food for thought to current engineers, since the ideas of some cars were quite sensible and just lacked technical feasibility implement these projects.
Since every day the automotive industry and the number of cars produced are only increasing, more powerful engines and committed brake systems, new materials are being used to make car bodies and even computers are being installed, it is quite possible that another industrial revolution is waiting for us soon and on modern cars in the future will look the same as we now looked at the cars of the 19th and 20th centuries.
