Car History. 05 Pioneer of the Internal Combustion Engine 1

 One day in 1863, in the Strait of Dover between France and England.

Under a clear and beautiful sky, a white and elegant passenger ship was traveling from England to France. This ship was powered by a steam engine, and smoke was rising from the large chimney in the middle of the ship. Standing at the back of the ship, looking at the chimney, was a man who turned toward England, lost in thought.

This man was the 29-year-old Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler, with a stern appearance and shining eyes. He was leaving England and returning to his homeland, Germany.

"Now is the time for me to create the engine I desire. An engine more efficient and more powerful than the steam engine I once worked on at the Maschinenfabrik Grafenstaden, and stronger than the gas engine invented by Étienne Lenoir in France. I will create it, and the whole world will take notice of me."

With this determination, Daimler was leaving England, where he had studied for two years out of thirst for knowledge and ambition.

Gottlieb Wilhelm Daimler

The founder of Daimler Motor Company, Gottlieb Daimler, was born in the small German town of Schorndorf to Johannes, a baker from a wealthy family whose lineage had been in the baking trade for four generations.

From a young age, Daimler loved tinkering with machines and attended a technical school to study mechanics. At the age of 14, in 1848, when revolutions such as France’s February Revolution, Britain’s Chartist movement, the German revolution, Italy’s unification movement, and independence movements in Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, and Denmark broke out, Europe required a large number of weapons. His father arranged for him to begin as an apprentice gunsmith.

After finishing his apprenticeship in 1852, Daimler completed two years at a technical school in Stuttgart and then worked at the Maschinenfabrik Grafenstaden in Alsace, France, a company that manufactured railway vehicles and steam engines. One day, however, Daimler decided to leave the company, realizing he lacked theoretical knowledge of machinery.

Although Grafenstaden recognized his talent and asked him to stay, Daimler resigned in 1856.

He then studied in Stuttgart for two more years before returning to Grafenstaden. Daimler firmly believed that there must be an engine more powerful and efficient than steam engines. In 1860, he argued for the inefficiency of steam engines and insisted on developing an alternative engine. However, the company dismissed his ideas, and Daimler resigned once more.

Later, Daimler heard that Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir (1822–1900) of France had succeeded in igniting a mixture of coal gas and air to invent a practical engine. Seeking broader horizons, Daimler traveled to Paris.

Upon arrival, he visited Lenoir and personally witnessed the engine he had developed.

Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir

This engine used coal gas as fuel. A mixture of coal gas and air was alternately supplied to small chambers at both ends of a cylinder, where a battery’s electric spark ignited the fuel. The explosion moved the cylinder left and right, and the resulting piston motion rotated the flywheel vertically. It was a two-stroke engine, displacing 18 liters and producing 2 horsepower.

Lenoir’s Gas Engine (1860)

After seeing Lenoir’s engine, Daimler realized his own shortcomings and decided to study in England, which at the time held the world’s most advanced engine technology. He spent two years there before returning through the Strait of Dover to France, on his way back to Germany.

Before returning home, he visited Étienne Lenoir (then 41 years old) at his La Roquette factory, the man who had greatly inspired him.

“Mr. Lenoir, how are you! It’s Daimler, from two years ago.”

“Oh, Daimler! Long time no see. Did you learn much during your stay in England?”

“Haha! Yes, I broadened my horizons greatly. I saw and felt so many things.”

“I see. Please, have a seat and let’s enjoy some tea together.”

Though they had only met once two years earlier, Lenoir warmly welcomed Daimler, recognizing his extraordinary talent, and the two spoke openly, as if meeting an old friend. Soon, they launched into an intense discussion about engines.

During their conversation on new engine technologies, Lenoir’s eyes sparkled as he changed the subject.

“Mr. Daimler, where do you plan to use the engine technology you’ve learned?”

“Well, in the past I was an engineer at the Maschinenfabrik Grafenstaden company, working on railway vehicles. I once proposed creating a new engine to replace steam engines, but my idea was completely rejected. I intend to build my own engine—one with far more power than anything that exists today. Honestly, I haven’t yet thought about where it might be applied. My only goal is to build an engine with immense power.”

Silently watching Daimler’s shining eyes, Lenoir smiled and spoke:

“Mr. Daimler, shall we go for a short walk?”

“A walk? Why all of a sudden?”

Somewhat puzzled, Daimler stood up and followed Lenoir outside.