Carl Benz
1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen No. 1
Photo details
Joyride preserves the 1,970 × 2,641 Commons original at research/celebrities/originals/carl-benz-patent-motorwagen-1/patent-motorwagen-no-1-original.jpg and serves a proportional 1,193 × 1,600 derivative. No crop, retouching, metadata-based identity change, generated reconstruction or vehicle substitution; responsive presentation may crop displayed edges.
Photo details
Joyride preserves the 1,627 × 2,340 Commons original and serves a proportional 1,112 × 1,600 derivative. No crop, retouching, generation or compositing; responsive presentation may crop displayed edges. This identification portrait remains separate from the actual-car photograph.
The artifact before the industry
- Connection
- Inventor, maker and later donor association · not a private-ownership claim
- When
- Completed in 1885 · patented and publicly demonstrated in 1886 · later donated to the Deutsches Museum
- Identity
- 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen No. 1 · patent 37435 · Deutsches Museum inventory 4710 · surviving museum artifact
The Deutsches Museum calls this the original Benz Patent-Motorwagen and stresses that the many running No. 1s shown elsewhere are replicas. Its collection highlights identify the individual object as inventory 4710 and date it to 1886. A separate museum publication says Carl Benz donated the car during his lifetime. That evidence establishes a creator, maker and donor association with a specific surviving artifact; Joyride does not turn it into a claim about private legal title.
Mercedes-Benz’s company history separates invention from legend. Benz completed the integrated two-seat vehicle in 1885, applied on January 29, 1886 for patent 37435, and made the model No. 1’s first documented public outing in July. The same account says Bertha Benz’s 1888 long-distance journey used an improved vehicle, so that famous drive is not attached to this exact No. 1 artifact.
The Deutsches Museum’s July 25, 2026 CC BY-SA 4.0 photograph is sourced from the digital record for object 4710 and shows the actual survivor head-on. It is not a replica or same-model stand-in. The museum calls the artifact original, but the reviewed current primary pages do not provide a complete restoration, reconstruction or part-by-part conservation chronology. Joyride therefore does not call its visible form untouched 1886 condition. A separate circa-1889 public-domain portrait identifies Benz without merging person and car imagery.
Where the car went next
- 1885Vehicle and engine conceived together
Mercedes-Benz dates completion of the integrated two-seat three-wheeler to 1885.
- January 29, 1886Patent 37435 filed
Benz applied for protection for his vehicle powered by a gas engine.
- July 1886Model No. 1 appears in public
Mercedes-Benz records newspaper reports of the three-wheeler’s first public outing.
- Later museum custodyBenz gives the artifact to the museum
The Deutsches Museum says Benz donated the car during his lifetime; it is now inventory 4710.
- July 25, 2026The exact artifact photographed
The museum’s licensed front view records object 4710 in its later preserved presentation.
Sources for this story
The Deutsches Museum identifies inventory 4710 as the unique original Benz Patent-Motorwagen No. 1, dates it to 1886 and says Carl Benz donated the car during his lifetime. Mercedes-Benz documents Benz’s integrated design, patent 37435 and the July 1886 public outing, while explicitly placing Bertha Benz’s 1888 journey in an improved vehicle. No private legal ownership, untouched 1886 configuration, complete conservation chronology, component originality, current display status, complete Patent-Motorwagen family coverage, exact Joyride catalog match or compatible game representation is claimed.
- Highlights — Mobility and Technology: Benz Patent-MotorwagenDeutsches Museum · undated collection highlight · reviewed 2026-10-08 · external source
Carl Benz’s design association, 1886 maker record, construction context and museum specification.
- Benz & Co.Deutsches Museum · 2011-01-31 · reviewed 2026-10-08 · external source
The museum’s identification of its artifact as the unique original and its distinction from replicas displayed elsewhere.
- Benz & Co. — 125 Years of the Benz Patent-MotorwagenDeutsches Museum · 2011 exhibition publication · reviewed 2026-10-08 · external source
The museum’s statement that Carl Benz donated the car during his lifetime.
- Benz Patent Motor Car: The first automobile (1885–1886)Mercedes-Benz Group · current company history · reviewed 2026-10-08 · external source
The 1885 completed vehicle, January 29, 1886 patent application, July 1886 public outing and the separate improved vehicle used by Bertha Benz in 1888.
Reviewed
Why this is the actual car
- Photo identity evidence
The Deutsches Museum supplies and identifies the July 25, 2026 front view and licenses it CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo identity evidence
The photograph’s source record identifies the object as Benz-Patent-Motorwagen No. 1, inventory 4710.
- Photo identity evidence
The museum distinguishes its unique original Patent-Motorwagen from replicas in other collections.
The matching photographer, venue, date and vehicle history establish the identification; the chassis stamp is not visible in these photographs.