When was the first car invented?

Earlier steam and electric vehicles existed, but the Benz Patent-Motorwagen is widely regarded as the first true car. Karl Benz received a German patent for it on 29 January 1886. The three-wheeled vehicle had a single-cylinder petrol engine producing less than one horsepower and a top speed of around 16 km/h. In August 1888 his wife, Bertha Benz, drove it about 100 km from Mannheim to Pforzheim without telling him, proving it was practical and attracting publicity. Benz’s company later merged with that of Gottlieb Daimler, forming Daimler-Benz, maker of Mercedes-Benz cars.