cars

tricycle

Jan 1, 1885

1885: Karl Benz (1844-1929) built a motorised tricycle driven by an oil-spirit internal combustion engine in 1885. This is widely held to be the first successful motor vehicle.

4 weel moter carriage 4 weel

Jan 1, 1885

1885: Gottlieb Daimler (1834-1900) built a motorised bicycle in 1885 and a 4-wheel motor carriage in 1886.

front wheel 4x4

Jan 1, 1898

1898: Latil (France) made front wheel drive units and then 4x4

first manufacturing

Jan 1, 1898

1898: Tatra started manufacturing.

first car company

Jan 1, 1899

1899: August Horch began a car company carrying his own surname in 1899; it evolved into Auto-Union and eventually Audi.

first battery power cars

Jan 1, 1900

1900: Ferdinand Porsche's La Toujours Contente had battery-power with four electric motors, one at each wheel. (He later patented the Mixte transmission in which a petrol engine drove a dynamo and electric motors drove the wheels. It was too expensive fo

First audio in cars

Jan 1, 1901

1901: Volume imports of cars began into Australia starting with De Dion Boutons.

6 cylinder engine

Jan 1, 1902

1902: Spyker featured a 6-cylinder engine and four wheel drive!

The fist 40hp Mercedes Simplex

Mar 1, 1902

1902: 'Mercedes' registered as a trademark. March 1, 1902, the first 40hp Mercedes Simplex ever built was supplied to Emil Jellinek in Nice. It was named after Jellinek's daughter.

Italinana Automobili

Jan 1, 1906

1906: Societa Italinana Automobili Darracq (SIAD) founded; it later became Alfa Romeo (about 1921).

paris car race

Jan 1, 1907

1907: Peking to Paris car race was won by an Itala.

four wheel drive with four wheel steering;

Jan 1, 1907

1907: Felix and Norman Caldwell of South Australia applied for a patent for four wheel drive with four wheel steering; they went on to build Caldwell Vale 4x4 trucks with Henry Vale. - L. A11ison

model t

Jan 1, 1908

1908: Model-T production began.

Bugatti first car

Jan 1, 1909

1909: Bugatti built his first car.

first sold fwd

Jan 1, 1911

1911: FWD sold its first 4x4.

4x4 truck

Jan 1, 1913

1913: Jeffrey Quad 4x4 truck went into production

The Society Anonima Officine

Jan 1, 1914

1914: The Society Anonima Officine Alfieri Maserati, Bologna, was created by the Maserati brothers.

road train

Jan 1, 1915

1915: Big Lizzie road train (.au).

First Oshkosh

Jan 1, 1917

1917: First Oshkosh four wheel drive truck.

Bentley founded.

Jan 1, 1919

1919: Bentley founded.

Citroen half-tracks

Jan 1, 1922

1922: Citroen half-tracks crossed the Sahara, leaving from Touggourt in Algeria.

Baby Austin

Jan 1, 1922

1922: Baby Austin 7.

first MG

Jan 1, 1924

1924: The first MG car was built - on a modified Morris Oxford chassis.

Citroen half-tracks

Dec 28, 1924

1924: December 28: Citroen half-tracks left to traverse Africa.

Model-T production ended

Jan 1, 1927

1927: Model-T production ended; 15 million Model Ts had been built from 1908 to 1927.

AEC

Jan 1, 1929

1929: AEC started to build AWD trucks in conjunction with FWD (UK).

Bentley taken

Jan 1, 1931

1931: Bentley taken over by Rolls Royce.

Citroen-Haardt expedition,

Jan 1, 1931

1931-1932: Citroen-Haardt expedition, using Citroen half-tracks, followed part of Marco-Polo's route from Beirut to Beijing.

Audi became part of Auto-Union

Jan 1, 1932

1932: Audi became part of Auto-Union, with DKW, Horch and Wanderer.

Miller 4x4

Jan 1, 1932

1932: Miller 4x4 racing cars at Indianapolis.

building 4WD

Jan 1, 1934

1934: Dodge started building 4WD trucks (-George Miles).

PX-33 four wheel drive car built

Jan 1, 1934

1934: Prototype PX-33 four wheel drive car built for the Japanese government; the car did not go into production (Mitsubishi). Thanks to Balazs Toth.

AEC

Jan 1, 1934

1934: AEC road train (one of three built) was brought to Australia. It consisted of an 8x8 prime-mover and two 8-wheel self-tracking trailers. - L. A11ison

aircraft factory founded

Jan 1, 1937

1937: Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, aircraft factory founded, later became Saab.

Russian

Jun 15, 1938

1938: GAZ 61 - Russian 4x4.

"Jeeps"

Jan 1, 1940

1940: Jeep specification issued. 1940-1941: Bantam built 2700 light 4x4s, early "Jeeps".

Ford and Willys-Overland

Jan 1, 1943

1941-1945: Ford and Willys-Overland built 700,000 General Purpose vehicles for WWII. GP became Jeep.

Amphibious Jeep

Jan 1, 1945

1954-1956: Amphibious Jeep `La Tortuga' "drove" from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.

Unimog introduced

Oct 10, 1946

1946, October 10: Unimog introduced (- H. J. Feil).

Land-Rover

Jan 1, 1948

1948: Series-1 Land-Rover released.

Porsche's

Jan 1, 1948

1948: Porsche's first car had a 1086cc 30kW VW engine.

Jaguar

Jan 1, 1948

1948: Jaguar XK120 launched.

Ford released

Jan 1, 1948

1948: Ford released the 1st of the F-Series vehicles.

Holden

Nov 1, 1948

1948: Holden 48-215.

Ford GPA

Jan 1, 1950

1950: The Ford GPA, or amphibious Jeep, `Half Safe' was "driven" across the Atlantic ocean by Ben and Elinore Carlin. It's true!

VW Transporter

Jan 1, 1950

1950: VW Transporter lay down the foundations of the hippy era.

Launch of the racing sports car version

Mar 12, 1952

1952 March 12: Launch of the racing sports car version of the Mercedes Benz 300SL (of the gullwing doors).

Redex Reliability Trial

Jan 1, 1953

1953: The first Redex Reliability Trial was held. Competitors had two weeks to cover 11,000km taking them around Australia. Ken Tubman and John Marshall won in a Peugeot 203.

London to Singapore

Jan 1, 1955

1955-1956: London to Singapore Overland (except for Channel!) 2×Land-Rovers.

Suzuki's first car.

Jan 1, 1955

1955: Suzuki's first car.

Goggomobil

Jan 1, 1955

1955: The wonderful Goggomobil.

LandCruisers imported into Australia

Jan 1, 1958

1958: First Toyota LandCruisers imported into Australia.

First Toyota Landcruiser

Jan 1, 1959

1951: First Toyota Landcruiser was built under the `BJ Jeep' name. The LandCruiser name came in 1954.

BMC Mini

Jan 1, 1959

1959: BMC Mini went on sale.

Haflinger by Steyr-Daimler-Puch.

Jan 1, 1959

1959: Haflinger by Steyr-Daimler-Puch.

Jeep and a Land-Rover traversed

Jan 1, 1960

1960: A Jeep and a Land-Rover traversed the Darien Gap

Ford Falcon XK.

Jan 1, 1960

1960: Ford Falcon XK.

Jaguar E-type unveiled

Jan 1, 1961

1961: Jaguar E-type unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show.

Ferguson Project 99

Jan 1, 1961

1961: Stirling Moss drove a Ferguson Project 99 (P99) with the Ferguson 4WD system to victory in the Oulton Park Gold-Cup race.

Porsche 911

Jan 1, 1964

1964: Porsche 911; it went on to become a classic.

Mini Moke

Jan 1, 1964

1964: Mini Moke went on sale.

Donald Campbell in Bluebird

Jul 17, 1964

1964, 17 July: Donald Campbell in Bluebird (4WD) raised the land speed record to 403mph, in Australia.

VW bought Audi

Jan 1, 1965

1965: VW bought Audi.

Jensen FF road car

Jan 1, 1966

1966: Jensen FF road car had Formula Ferguson 4WD and Dunlop Maxaret anti-lock brakes (ABS).

Ferrari

Jan 1, 1969

1969: Ferrari joined the Fiat group.

Range Rover

Jan 1, 1970

1970: Range Rover released - luxury full-time 4WD.

Lunar rover "cars"

Jan 1, 1971

1971: Lunar rover "cars" on the moon.

Ford Falcon XY

Jan 1, 1971

1971: Ford Falcon XY ute 4WD (.au).

Trans-Americas Range Rover expedition

Jan 1, 1971

1971-1972: British Trans-Americas Range Rover expedition.

Subaru Leone

Jan 1, 1974

1974: Subaru Leone 4x4 car.

AMC produced

Jan 1, 1979

1979: AMC produced the Eagle 4x4 car.

Specification for the High Mobility Multipurpose

Jan 1, 1981

1981: Specification for the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) was issued; later known as the Humvee or Hummer.

Quattro 4WD rally car

Jan 1, 1981

1981: Audi revolutionized rallying with the Quattro 4WD rally car

Porsche 911

Jan 1, 1981

1981: Porsche showed the Porsche 911 AWD concept car at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Land-Rover 110

Jan 1, 1983

1983: Land-Rover 110, coil-sprung, full-time 4WD.

A Porsche 911

Jan 1, 1984

1984: A Porsche 911 AWD won the Paris Dakar rally.

Porsche 959

Jan 1, 1986

1986: Porsche 959 AWDs finished 1, 2 and 6 in the Paris Dakar rally.

Maserati

Jan 1, 1993

1993: Maserati was bought by Fiat from de Tomaso.

Lotus was taken

Jan 1, 1996

1996: Lotus was taken over by Proton.

jeep Wrangler

Jan 1, 1996

1996: New Jeep Wrangler got coil springs.

Thrust SSC broke

Jan 1, 1997

1997: Thrust SSC broke the sound barrier and raised the World Land Speed Record to 1221kph (763mph, Mach 1.02).

Bugatti name bought by VW.

Jan 1, 1998

1998: Bugatti name bought by VW.

Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz

Jan 1, 1998

1998: Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz merged to form DaimlerChrysler.

entley bought by VW

Jan 1, 1998

1998: Bentley bought by VW. Is nothing sacred? BMW pulled a swifty and bought the Rolls Royce name.

Volvo cars sold

Jan 1, 1999

1999: Volvo cars sold to Ford.

Ford bought LandRover

Jan 1, 2000

2000: Ford bought LandRover and `Phoenix' took over MG-Rover from BMW.

BMW put the retro'

Jan 1, 2001

2001: BMW put the retro' `new Mini' on sale in Europe (.au in 2002).

: Rolls-Royce

Jul 1, 2001

2001: July: Rolls-Royce and Bentley Motor Cars announced details of the last Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph model to commemorate 97 years of Rolls-Royce cars; production ends with 2001. VW continued to build Bentleys but future Rolls Royces were to be built at BMW's new factory.

Rolls-Royce

Jan 1, 2002

2002: Rolls-Royce became pure BMW, and Bentley pure Volkswagen.