World's First Automobile "Benz 1" Makes Appearance at Beijing Auto Show, Demonstrating Start-up and Driving
Recently, a video circulated online showed the Mercedes-Benz booth at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show welcoming a special guest – the world's first automobile, "Benz 1" (a Mercedes-Benz authorized replica). This three-wheeled car, born 140 years ago, not only underwent static display but also completed a start-up and driving demonstration on-site.
In the video, staff manually turned the flywheel at the rear of the vehicle, after which the engine started. The driver engaged the gear, and the vehicle began to drive around the booth. Many attendees were seeing the start-up and driving of the Benz 1 for the first time, and the booth was packed with onlookers.
It is understood that on January 29, 1886, German engineer Karl Benz applied for an imperial patent (patent number 37435a) for his three-wheeled gasoline motor vehicle, which is widely recognized as the world's first internal combustion engine-powered automobile, marking the beginning of the automotive industry.
The Benz 1 appearing at the Beijing Auto Show is equipped with a single-cylinder four-stroke engine with a displacement of 0.954 liters and a power of 0.75 horsepower. Its top speed is approximately 16 kilometers per hour. It adopts a three-wheeled structure with front-wheel steering and rear-wheel chain drive, and the body is constructed with a metal frame combined with a wooden structure.
This year marks the 140th anniversary of the birth of the automotive industry. Mercedes-Benz is participating in this auto show with its largest-ever exhibition in brand history, showcasing nearly 40 models, including 12 classic cars.
Mercedes-Benz is presenting "Benz 1" as one of the core exhibits on its booth and demonstrating its start-up and driving on-site, intending to create a cross-temporal dialogue between the 0.75-horsepower three-wheeled car from 140 years ago and today's hundreds-of-horsepower intelligent electric vehicles.