Back when the world was still fixated on using horses as the primary means of transportation, a small German company was building what would become the first-ever luxury automobile in the world.
Today, you’ll lose count if you start naming all the luxury cars; you’ll find fast hypercars like the Bugattis to ultra-comfortable SUVs built by brands like Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes, Lamborghini and many others.
With all the luxury cars that constantly troop the market each day, have you stopped wondering which was the first-ever luxury car to surface the planet?
The credit goes to the Daimler Motor Car, a vehicle developed in Germany by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG) back in 1892.
The company was founded by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach. The company would produce cars under the Mercedes brand in 1901. So, the Daimler Motor Car was not just the first-ever car but became the car that laid the foundation for the history of Mercedes-Benz.
The boxy vehicle with its single bench seat looks more like a carriage than a car in the modern world. And “luxury” is the last adjective anyone would think to qualify it with. However, 130 years ago, the mere fact that it didn’t need horses to move made it one of the most luxurious means of transportation available.
The car was based on Daimler’s and Maybach’s 1889 steel-wheeled prototype. The vehicle’s engine delivered power to the rear wheels through a three-speed gearbox and rear-axle differential. The vehicle was much more challenging to operate than the vehicle manuals we have today.
It featured a basic braking system consisting of two external bocks pressed against the rear axle’s solid rubber tires when the driver needed to stop.
The Motor Car didn’t exceed the top speed of 11 mph, and its range was abysmal. Fuels stations were not as rampant as we have them today. So, the few who could afford this Motor Car had to run to pharmacy stores to buy fuel.
It was far less efficient than a horse-drawn carriage, yet owning one of it then was the ultimate statement of one’s wealth.
According to the company’s record, the first Motor Car sold was to a private customer in North Africa. The lucky owner’s name was Mawlay Hassan bin Mohammed, better known as Hassan I, the sultan of Morocco.
Since it was fit for a king, the DMG automobile received several unique customisations, including a velvet top ornated with gold-thread tassels, genuine ebony trims, and a bench upholstered in the finest leather that the Germans could find.
The then Sultan of Morocco was so pleased with the quality of the car that he also ordered a bespoke motorboat from DMG that same year.
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