The Thrilling Untold History of Sports Cars and Early Racing Legends

The story of the automobile begins with the quest for motorized transportation. Early inventors created steam powered tractors long before modern vehicles appeared. These heavy machines performed agricultural work rather than moving passengers. Therefore they do not count as true personal cars.

Historians widely agree that Karl Benz built the first practical internal combustion automobile in 1885. Amédée Bollée constructed several experimental steam carriages in France during 1873. His son later built a steam mail coach and a small steam carriage in 1885. These early creations simply added mechanical engines to traditional horse drawn vehicles.

Karl Benz created a completely original machine from the ground up. He engineered a unique vehicle designed specifically to carry human passengers. His first automobile featured a three wheeled chassis. Power came from a single cylinder gasoline engine with liquid cooling. The engine produced less than one horsepower and reached a top speed of eight miles per hour. Today this historic vehicle resides inside the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

The Earliest Racing Battles and the Historic 1894 Paris Run

Official automobile racing began in France during 1894. However the earliest recorded contest between motorized vehicles took place in Wisconsin during 1878. Two steam tractors raced over two hundred miles from Madison to Green Bay. The winning vehicle took over thirty three hours to complete the journey. State officials originally promised a ten thousand dollar reward. They later paid only five thousand dollars because they deemed the tractors impractical.

The famous 1894 event in France was organized as a reliability test from Paris to Rouen. Dedicated race cars did not exist at the time. Drivers entered standard production touring vehicles. Participants treated the event as a speed competition right from the start. Sixty nine vehicles entered the preliminary qualification round. Twenty five cars advanced to the main seventy nine mile event.

Count Jules-Albert de Dion crossed the finish line first with an average speed of twelve miles per hour. Georges Lemâitre and Auguste Doriot finished right behind him in Peugeot cars. Race judges disqualified de Dion because his steam car required a stoker. That requirement violated official competition rules. Peugeot seemed ready to claim the top spot. However officials split the first place prize between Peugeot and Panhard. They recognized that Panhard supplied the engines used inside the Peugeot vehicles.

America Enters the Scene with the Snowy 1895 Chicago Race

The United States hosted its first official automobile race on Thanksgiving Day in 1895. The Chicago Times-Herald sponsored the fifty four mile event. The course ran from downtown Chicago to Evanston and back. Deep snow covered the roads on race day. Frank Duryea drove his custom car to victory in just over ten hours. He averaged seven miles per hour and claimed the two thousand dollar cash prize.

Brothers Frank and Charles Duryea were the first Americans to build successful commercial automobiles. Over one hundred entrants registered for the Chicago event. Heavy winter weather kept most competitors away. Only six vehicles lined up at the start. The field included two electric cars and three German Benz vehicles.

Frank Duryea broke a steering arm early in the race. He repaired the component himself along the road. A Benz vehicle took the lead while Duryea completed repairs. Duryea caught the leader near Evanston and reclaimed first place. He held the lead all the way to the finish line. Oscar Mueller drove the only other car to complete the grueling race in his Benz.

The Birth of International Racing and the Gordon Bennett Cup

An international racing series began when James Gordon Bennett Jr established the Gordon Bennett Cup. The owner of the New York Herald invited auto clubs across Europe to compete annually. Each national team could enter three vehicles built entirely within their home country. Teams painted their cars in distinct national colors. British cars wore green paint, Italian cars wore red, German cars wore white, and French cars wore blue.

Drivers contested six Cup races over a six year period. Most early events featured long point to point courses between major cities. The inaugural race took place in May 1900 from Paris to Lyon. Fernand Charron won the event in a Panhard after driving for over nine hours. Léonce Girardot finished second two hours later. The 1901 Cup ran alongside the traditional Paris to Bordeaux race. Henri Fournier took overall victory in a Mors car while Girardot claimed the Cup trophy in his Panhard.

The 1902 Gordon Bennett Cup expanded across international borders. Competitors raced over five hundred miles from Paris to Innsbruck. Selwyn Edge won the contest driving a British built Napier fitted with Dunlop tires.

British victory meant the 1903 race belonged in England. Public road racing remained illegal on the English mainland. Organizers selected Ireland as the official venue instead. Authorities worried about safety following fatal crashes in previous European races. Over seven thousand police officers and soldiers guarded the course. Marshals kept crowds away from dangerous corners. Competitors started individually at seven minute intervals. Camille Jenatzy won the three hundred mile contest in a powerful Mercedes.

Germany hosted the 1904 event following the Mercedes victory. Drivers completed four laps over a three hundred mile course. Léon Théry of France won the event convincingly. The final Gordon Bennett Cup took place in 1905 on a mountainous circuit near Clermont-Ferrand. Léon Théry drove brilliantly once again to capture his second consecutive victory.