00:06This is the world's very first car, well, technically a replica.
00:10It's the Benz-patent motor car.
00:12The automobile was born in 1886, the creator, Carl Benz.
00:18It's more comfortable than I thought, but very, very loud.
00:25At the back you'll see a combustion engine or gas engine, as it was called back then, which burns gasoline.
00:30It's a four-stroke based on the principle of the auto engine.
00:35Today I'm taking you on a journey to trace the roots of this groundbreaking invention, the car.
00:40Our first stop, Mannheim, the city where Carl Benz built his motor car.
00:45In Ladenburg I'll visit the Carl Benz Auto Museum.
00:48And finally, I'll drive part of what's known as the Bertha Benz route.
00:52The very first long-distance trip in an automobile that was actually done by a woman.
00:56And here in Stuttgart I'll explore the Mercedes-Benz Museum to find out what the future of the automobile might
01:03look like.
01:03What goes in the tank?
01:05We fill it with white gas, ligroin, like in the old days.
01:09The car won't run on modern fuel.
01:11You can't buy it at the gas station either.
01:13We buy it in bulk from a specialist retailer.
01:17Take a whiff.
01:18It smells different than the gas from the gas station.
01:20More like lighter fluid.
01:26No way.
01:27Alright, let's go.
01:30Back then it wasn't as simple as just turning the ignition key.
01:46This invention revolutionized transportation around the world.
01:50A big step forward.
01:52Even if it's not so great for the environment.
01:54Today there are more than 1.5 billion cars worldwide.
01:59And this year alone nearly 90 million more will likely be added.
02:06Car Benz started a long tradition of car making.
02:09And the world's oldest brand still exists.
02:12Today it's Mercedes-Benz.
02:14For my small journey in the footsteps of the first car, I'm borrowing something special.
02:19No, not the Benz Patton motor car.
02:21That one doesn't even reach one horsepower.
02:24And only manages 16 kilometers per hour.
02:27Way too slow.
02:28That's why I went for something with a little more power.
02:31The legendary Mercedes W126.
02:35In the 1980s, this model was the undisputed world leader in the luxury car segment.
02:41And still to this day, it's the most produced luxury sedan in the world.
02:47So I'm off to explore car history in this beauty.
02:50But first a quick stop at the museum shop.
02:53Soon you'll see why.
02:59This little souvenir is for two very special people.
03:09Alright, here we go.
03:11About 130 kilometers north from Stuttgart.
03:18First to Mannheim and then on to Ladenburg.
03:21Both cities are located between Stuttgart and Frankfurt am Main.
03:30Here in Mannheim, there is a huge monument to the famous inventor and car builder.
03:36Because it was in Mannheim that Carl Benz built his very first car.
03:40The building of his first company called the Mechanical Workshop was destroyed in World War II.
03:45The only thing left is a silhouette of the patent motor car.
03:49A reminder of the place where automotive history was made.
03:53I'm hoping to get deeper insights in Ladenburg at the Dr. Carl Benz Auto Museum.
04:00Winfried A. Seidel, a passionate car collector, founded this museum here, in a very special location.
04:07This was the former Benz factory.
04:12In 1903, Carl Benz had such irreconcilable differences with his business partners in Mannheim that he left in a huff.
04:20But the name remained.
04:24Benz then built a new factory here in Ladenburg.
04:27That's where we are now.
04:30Here too you'll find replicas of Carl Benz's very first motor cars.
04:37And also faithfully reconstructed his original workshop from Mannheim.
04:48His vision always comprised two perspectives, that of the bicycle and the railroad.
04:55I think he likely set out to combine the two.
05:00He wanted to get away from train tracks, but he also didn't want to pedal with his legs, like on
05:05a bike.
05:08That might be how the first automobile came into being.
05:14This was the factory in Ladenburg, shown here in the only surviving photo.
05:21Worldwide, only three vehicles still exist that were originally built here in Ladenburg.
05:26Two of them are on display in this museum, carefully restored.
05:35But it wasn't just Carl.
05:37His wife Bertha Benz also played a key role in the invention of the car.
05:44This wasn't a woman who stood behind him.
05:46She stood beside him.
05:49She was obviously very interested in technology too.
05:54For example, it's said she took her sewing machine out of their home and used it to wind induction coils.
06:03And in Ladenburg, Carl Benz lived in what is now the Carl Benz house until his death in 1929.
06:14In the garden, the Benz family had a garage built, designed like a small watchtower.
06:20It's probably the very first garage in the world.
06:32Carl and Bertha Benz also found their final resting place here in Ladenburg.
06:42Carl Benz invented the car, but his wife Bertha made the first long-distance drive.
06:48On this very road, the Bertha Benz route.
06:53This route commemorates Bertha's historic trip back in 1888.
06:58She drove a little over 100 kilometers from Mannheim through Heidelberg all the way to her hometown Pforzheim with her
07:09two sons and without telling her husband.
07:12Why didn't Carl Benz know about this big test drive?
07:15We've got a letter where she wrote,
07:21My Carl would have never allowed it.
07:25My Carl would have never allowed it.
07:27Why not?
07:30He was hesitant.
07:33He constantly had doubts about his inventions.
07:40Bertha's journey showed incredible courage, because at the time it was a huge risk.
07:48On this trip alone, she demonstrated just how much she studied this motor vehicle.
07:57It broke down a few times.
08:02They ran out of fuel.
08:07But she knew that at the pharmacy, she could get a cleaning agent that was highly explosive and use that
08:13as fuel.
08:14And that was used as fuel.
08:18In the small town of Wiesloch, Bertha made a halt.
08:23This monument remembers her legendary pit stop.
08:29Bertha had to refuel right here at the local pharmacy.
08:34So this is the world's first gas station.
08:42In total, including the way back, Bertha covered more than 200 kilometers.
08:48She needed over 100 liters of water just to cool the engine.
08:52And she overcame many other challenges along the way.
08:58One of the cables in the electrical ignition had worn down to the bare wire.
09:03She took her garter, wrapped it around the cable as insulation, and carried on driving.
09:09There were a number of other issues.
09:13One of the most serious.
09:15On the return trip, the brake shoes had worn down to the bare metal.
09:22They were hardwood blocks that pressed against the rear axle.
09:30So she went to the village cobbler and had leather nailed onto these brake blocks, onto these pieces of wood.
09:40That was basically the invention of brake pads.
09:45Bertha Benz's trip caused a sensation.
09:48Interest in her husband's motor car skyrocketed.
09:51And the foundation of a global empire was laid.
10:01I'm back at the auto museum in Stuttgart.
10:04The name Benz still stands for automobile engineering today and has shaped mobility across many segments for decades.
10:10Cars became more comfortable, safer and faster.
10:13After the era of gasoline and diesel engines, the electric age has, of course, started here too.
10:19But what does the future of mobility look like?
10:21At Mercedes Benz, Kai Jadner is the man in charge of such questions.
10:25His job title? Futurist.
10:28As a futurist, what would you personally like to see in the cars of the future?
10:33I hope we'll succeed in striking a balance.
10:36We've got familiar things that we like and don't want to give up.
10:40Yet innovations should be possible too, though perhaps not all of them in a single car.
10:45I think there'll be vehicles that use lots of digital tech and automation.
10:50But also vehicles to drive yourself that are digitally minimalist.
10:54Ones that still have windows, for example, that connect you to the outside world.
10:59And the thrill of driving a race car should still be possible.
11:02I hope the future has all of this in store for us.
11:05That would be modern and good.
11:07I'd look forward to that.
11:15Now you know who built the first car and where.
11:18We'll be right back here.
11:21We'll be right back here.
11:21You're right.
11:21That's where we can see the new vehicle for our young
11:21And we'll be right back.
11:21You
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