Firsts among equals

Cars that broke new ground

DRIFT MODE Ford Focus RS 2016

All hail electronic trickery – for it gave us the first-ever Drift mode, in the Focus RS Mk3, which allows the car’s attitude to gracefully and gradually build with power and the RS to dance through the latter part of the bend with a few degrees of opposite lock applied. Others have since followed.

QUAD-TURBO Bugatti EB110 1991

Ten years after the first twin-turbo engine was introduced, Bugatti built the world’s first road-going production car with four turbos. How long until we see a six-turbo engine?

FIRST CAR Benz Patentmotorwagen 1886

It was the world’s first car, and although the layout of Karl Benz’s three-wheeled design didn’t share much with the cars of today, it still changed the world as we know it.

48V ELECTRIC SYSTEM Bentley Bentayga 2015

For as long as we’ve known, cars have had 12V electrical systems. But with ever more complex trickery on cars – electric antiroll bars and electric turbos, for example – more power is needed to run them. The Bentayga got there first with a 48V system, just pipping the Audi SQ7.

TRIP COMPUTER Cadillac Seville 1978

Even basic cars now have some form of trip computer. The first analogue trip computer was in the Saab GT750 of 1958. The 1978 Cadillac Seville introduced the electronic trip computer, two years after the arrival of the Aston Martin Lagonda, with its fully electronic dashboard.

VVT Alfa Romeo Spider 1980

The first patents for variable valve timing were granted in the 1920s and Porsche revisited the technology in the 1950s. But it wasn’t until 1980 that the first production car was available with VVT – the Alfa Romeo Spider.

FUEL INJECTION Goliath GP700 1952

Many assume that Mercedes was the first to offer a fuel-injected petrol engine, in its 300SL. Not so: Goliath, part of Borgward, pipped Mercedes to the post with its very low-volume GP700 Sport.

ELECTRONIC IGNITION Fiat Dino 1968

Nowadays, one of the most popular upgrades for classic cars is to convert the old points-based ignition system to an electronic alternative. If you’ve got a Fiat Dino, you don’t need to swap, though. When it arrived in 1968, it was the first car to be produced with electronic ignition as standard.

LED LIGHTS Maserati 3200GT 1998

Shifting to LEDS has allowed car designers to experiment far more with shapes, thanks to the ready availability of compact lighting. LED lighting is also more efficient and reliable than regular bulbs. The 3200GT was the first car to use LED rear lighting in 1998. The Audi R8 followed in 2007 with LED headlights.

PLUG-IN HYBRID BYD F3DM 2009

The first globally available plug-in hybrid was the Chevrolet Volt/ Vauxhall-opel Ampera. But BYD offered the F3DM in China two years earlier. A handful of examples found their way to Europe.

V6 ENGINE Lancia Aurelia 1950

Most car makers switched from a straight-six to a V6 years ago because a V6 is more compact, which helps with weight distribution and packaging. The first car to use a V6 was the Lancia Aurelia of 1950.

VOICE CONTROL Infiniti Q45 2002

If you bought a new Infiniti Q45 in 2002, no longer were you in danger of being carted off by the men in white coats when you talked to your car. That’s because, for the first time ever, you could control the navigation with your voice – so long as you didn’t have a strong regional accent, of course.

EIGHT-SPEED MANUAL Maybach DS8 1931

You could be forgiven for thinking that we’re still waiting for the first eight-speed manual gearbox, but it actually arrived as far back as 1931, mated to an 8.0-litre V12 in the Maybach Zeppelin DS8.

MPV Fiat 600 Multipla 1956

Decades before the term multipurpose vehicle was coined, Fiat built the world’s first. It was tiny and cramped, but the Multipla could carry six people – though not in much comfort.

PASSENGER AIRBAG Porsche 944 1988

Considering the airbag first appeared in 1973, it’s amazing to think that only the driver would get one for the next 15 years. But finally, in 1988, the passenger airbag made its debut.

ADJUSTABLE STEERING WHEEL Cadillac 1965

For the 1965 model year, Cadillac introduced a steering wheel that could be adjusted for reach and rake. That’s more than half a century ago and still some cars don’t offer this facility today.

SELF-LEVELLING SUSPENSION Citroën DS 1955

With air suspension and electronically controlled dampers now commonplace, the self-levelling suspension of the DS doesn’t seem that special, but it was groundbreaking more than 60 years ago.

NAVIGATION Honda Accord 1982

It didn’t use satellites, but the 1982 Accord was offered with a navigation system called the Electro Gyrocator. But costs were huge, which is why it’s likely that none were ever sold.

CLIMATE CONTROL Cadillac Sedan de Ville 1964

Air-con rapidly became a must-have for cars in the warmer parts of the US and the battle was on to improve it. GM got there first, fitting automatic ‘comfort control’ air-con on the 1964 Cadillac Sedan de Ville, among other models. Set the desired temperature and it stays there, in theory.

HATCHBACK Citroën Traction Avant 1939

Although the Traction Avant was launched in 1934, it took another five years for Citroën to introduce the Commerciale edition, the world’s first hatchback.

DISC BRAKES Chrysler Crown Imperial 1948

It was another decade before most car makers discovered disc brakes but, as early as 1948, the Chrysler Crown Imperial featured them on all four wheels. Even now, seven decades on, some economy cars still feature disc brakes at the front only.

AIR SUSPENSION Cadillac Brougham 1958

A feature that even now is fitted to only the most luxurious of cars, air suspension was introduced by Cadillac on its top-line models more than half a century ago for a magic-carpet ride.

MECHANICAL ANTI-LOCK BRAKES Jensen FF 1968

Although anti-lock brakes are now mandatory on all new cars, such technology seemed fanciful when Jensen introduced the mechanical Dunlop Maxaret system on its FF.

FIVE-SPEED MANUAL ’BOX Lancia Ardea 1948

Lancia introduced the Ardea in 1939 with a four-speed manual gearbox. When the third series appeared in 1948, it featured an extra ratio in the transmission, making it the first car in the world to be fitted with a fivespeed manual gearbox.

CRUISE CONTROL Imperial 1957

American roads have long been the perfect environment for cruise control, but until Imperial introduced the feature on its 1957 models, you had to be disciplined with the throttle.

KEYLESS GO Mercedes S-class 1998

Pulling a key from your pocket and pressing a button: it’s all just so much effort. How much easier would it be to walk up to the car door and grab the handle to get in? From 1998, you could, with the arrival of the W220-generation S-class – and another ground-breaking double (see p67) for the S-class.

V16 Cadillac 1930

The only 16-cylinder car recently in production is the Bugatti Chiron and its W16, but this is where it all started. The world’s first production V16 proved popular, with Cadillac building 4076 of them.

CAR RADIO Cadillac La Salle 1929

Debate rages (well, at least among those who care about these things) over which was the first car to feature a factory-fit radio. The 1929 Cadillac (and its subsidiary La Salle) was available with a dealer-fitted Delcoremy unit, but it seems the 1933 Crossley was the first car to feature a factory-fitted AM radio

POWER STEERING Imperial 1951

We take it for granted now, but until Chrysler’s Imperial division started to offer power steering on its 1951 models, drivers just had to accept that city driving was a pain.

SEALED PRESSURISED COOLING Renault 4 1961

Until the arrival of the Renault 4, you had to top up your cooling system periodically, and boiling over was common. But the 4 introduced us to the sealed pressurised system.

TURBOCHARGER Oldsmobile F-85 Turbo Jetfire 1962

There’s much debate over which was the world’s first turbocharged production car. The answer is this, swiftly followed by Chevrolet’s Corvair. BMW and Saab were much later.

SAFETY CELL Saab 92 1949

For years, Saab and Volvo competed against each other in building the world’s safest cars. This is where it started, when Saab introduced the world’s first safety cell in its 92.

REVERSING CAMERA Toyota Soarer 1991

Although the 1956 Buick Centurion concept featured a rear parking camera, such technology didn’t appear on a production car until 1991. The first to get it was the Japanese-market-only Toyota Soarer. A spoiler-mounted camera fed a signal to a colour screen on the dashboard.

VVT DIESEL Mitsubishi ASX 2010

Even though the first production petrol engine with variable valve timing arrived in 1980, it took another 30 years for the same tech to be applied to a production diesel engine, with a much more freely revving engine being a key benefit.

REMOTE LOCKING Renault Fuego 1982

We’ve got used to being able to lock and unlock our cars from afar, but this was the one that started it all. Until the Fuego, remote central locking was the stuff of dreams.

FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE Tracta 1928

It’s often assumed that Citroën’s Traction Avant was the world’s first front-wheel-drive car, but not so. It made front-wheel drive popular, but French firm Tracta introduced front-drive six years earlier.

LAP BELTS Nash Ambassador 1950

From 1950, you could order your Nash with lap belts up front, but you had to pay extra for them. Standard belts didn’t appear until Saab introduced its GT750 in 1958.

ALTERNATOR Plymouth Valiant 1960

The problem with dynamos is that they struggle to generate much power for a car’s other electrical systems, such as its lighting. Alternators are far more efficient, but they didn’t arrive until 1960, when the Valiant got the first one.

SYNCHROMESH Porsche 356 1952

When Porsche fitted synchromesh to all four ratios of the 356 in 1952, it produced the world’s first car with an all-synchro ’box. Until then, doubledeclutching was the order of the day.

HEATER Nash 1933

Crude heaters were available in the early 1920s, although they were always aftermarket items rather than factory fitted. It wasn’t until 1933 that a relatively compact and efficient factory-fitted heater was available, when Nash introduced its new range.

ELECTRONIC ABS BRAKES Mercedes S-class 1978

The first modern four-channel fully electronic anti-lock braking system wasn’t available until 1978, when Mercedes offered it as an option on its range-topping W116generation S-class.

SAT-NAV Mazda Eunos Cosmo 1990

The idea of an in-built navigation system had been around since the 1950s but it wasn’t until the 1990 Mazda Eunos Cosmo that sat-nav became a reality, operating via the US Air Force’s Global Positioning System. However, it was not very accurate until 2000, when President Clinton told the Pentagon to make GPS as accurate for civilians as it was for the military.

COUPE-CABRIOLET Peugeot 401 Eclipse 1934

Ford revived the folding hard-top with its Skyliner of 1957, but this was the first coupé-cabriolet. The idea didn’t become popular until the 1990s, though, with the trend-setting Mercedes-benz SLK.

RUN-FLAT TYRES Mini 1275 GT 1974

When BMW launched its first Mini in 2001, it famously came with runflat tyres, but it was the original Mini that pioneered such technology. Developed by Dunlop, the Denovo run-flat tyre was available on an array of British Leyland models but there were few takers.

ROTARY ENGINE NSU Wankel Spider 1964

When Felix Wankel introduced the rotary engine, little did he know what grief lay ahead. NSU bit first, with its Spider, but the technology eventually broke the company.

MONOCOQUE Lancia Lambda 1924

Compared with today’s sophisticated designs, the Lambda’s unibody construction was more of a semimonocoque. But it was still the first to dispense with a separate chassis. The Lambda was also the first car to feature hydraulic shock absorbers.

OVERDRIVE Chrysler Airflow 1934

Designed to maintain cruising speed at lower revs and thus aid fuel economy, overdrive became very popular on upmarket cars of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, but it was introduced several years before World War II on the ill-fated Airflow.

COMMON-RAIL DIESEL Alfa Romeo 156 JTD 1997

Common-rail fuel delivery was pioneered in the 1960s, but it wasn’t fitted to a production car until 1997, when it arrived in Fiat Group products, badged as JTD, or unijet Turbo Diesel.

ELECTRIC WINDOWS Imperial 1951

The first power-assisted windows were fitted to the 1940 Packard 180 but a hydro-electric set-up was used. It wasn’t until 1951 that purely electric windows were fitted to a car. The Chrysler Imperial was the first car to feature them.

FOUR WHEELS Daimler Motorised carriage 1886

The first car in the world with four wheels, this was developed at the same time as Benz’s three-wheeler, yet its maker, Gottlieb Daimler, didn’t know of Benz’s creation.

TWIN-TURBO Maserati Biturbo 1981

Why settle for one turbocharger when you can have two? Until the arrival of the Maserati Biturbo in 1981, nobody had built a twin-turbo production car but the Maser blazed a trail with tech that’s now common.

CVT DAF 600 1958

Today, they’re more popular than ever before, thanks to sophisticated electronics in cars like the Toyota Prius, but when DAF introduced the continuously variable transmission, it was a purely mechanical system.

STEERING WHEEL AUDIO CONTROLS Nissan 300ZX 1984

Until this point, you had to reach over to adjust the radio volume, but praise the Lord! From here on, you could just press a button on the steering wheel and it was all taken care of.

DIESEL Mercedes 260D 1936

Debate rages over which was the first production diesel car. Prototypes from Citroën, Saurer and Peugeot came earlier, but this is reckoned to be the first production model.

CENTRAL LOCKING Packard 1956

The introduction of central locking isn’t very well documented, but from what we can tell, Packard introduced a power door lock system on its 1956 range. If you reckon the defunct US car maker was pipped to the post, let us know.

TURBO DIESEL Mercedes 300SD 1977

The idea of driving a normally aspirated diesel car would fill most of us with horror, but until the 300SD, that’s how it was. From here on, though, the turbo diesel gained ground.

THERMOSTATIC FAN Peugeot 403 1959

Even well into the 1960s and 1970s, many cars featured a fixed cooling fan that ran as long as the engine was running, but Peugeot introduced the thermostatic fan in 1959.

ALLOY MONOCOQUE Honda NSX 1990

By the 1960s, most car makers were building cars with a monocoque construction, for lower production costs. But the alloy monocoque didn’t come until 1990, when the NSX arrived.

HEADLIGHT WASH/WIPE Saab 95/96/99 1970

Wipers for headlights seems rather archaic today, with active headlights cleaned by high-pressure water jets. But in 1970, when Saab introduced headlight wash/wipe for its cars, it was cutting-edge technology that would become widely adopted.

SUPERCHARGER Mercedes 1921

Before turbocharging became popular, it was the supercharger that ruled when a power boost was needed. Mercedes was the first to use the technology as far back as the early 1920s.

CARBONFIBRE MONOCOQUE Mclaren F1 1991

When you’re building a car that costs £530,000 plus taxes, you don’t have to skimp on the specification. That’s why Mclaren used the F1 to introduce the world to the carbonfibre monocoque.

AUTOMATIC GEARBOX Oldsmobile 1939

Until the introduction of the Oldsmobile Hydra-matic in 1939, you had to change gears yourself. That all changed, though, thanks to this car’s four-speed slushbox.

GLASSFIBRE Woodill Wildfire 1952

Glassfibre became the wonder material of the 1950s and was used to revive many a pre-war car. The Wildfire was the first to feature a glassfibre bodyshell, though.

AIRBAGS Oldsmobile Toronado 1973

It would be more than two decades before airbags became a common fitment on European cars, but they made their US debut in the early 1970s.

DRIVE-BY-WIRE BMW 7 Series 1987

Relying on mechanical linkages for everything is bad news. It impacts on packaging and things seize up or wear, leading to poor reliability. It’s much better to activate things electronically. In 1987, BMW introduced a throttle-by-wire system on its E32-generation 750il, which was also the first European car to be offered with a navigation option.

SAFETY WINDSCREEN Tucker Torpedo 1948

Cadillac had pioneered the use of shatter-proof windscreens as far back as 1926. Tucker introduced the ‘safety windshield’ – a pop-out screen – on its ill-fated 1948 Torpedo.

THREE-POINT SEATBELT Volvo Amazon 1959

Volvo is renowned for its work in making cars safer and the threepoint seatbelt, launched in 1959, has arguably saved more lives than any other safety feature.

ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL Mercedes S-class 1998

The 1995 Mitsubishi Diamante blazed the ACC trail, but only the throttle and gears were controlled. The brakes weren’t also applied. The first car to offer a full system as we know it was the W220-series S-class.

GAS TURBINE Rover JET1 1950

Gas turbine technology represented the future back in 1950. But fuel consumption was horrific and transmitting the power to the road wasn’t all that straightforward. It never caught on in cars but did elsewhere, notably in the main US Army battle tank, the M1 Abrams.

AIR CONDITIONING Nash Ambassador 1954

Packard offered air conditioning on its cars from 1939, but the system was very costly and grossly inefficient. It also took up the entire boot space. Nash overcame such hurdles in 1954, aided by being sister company to a refrigerator manufacturer, Kelvinator.

HEAD-UP DISPLAY Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme 1988

The advantages of this technology were learned from military aviation. The first automotive version was fitted to the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme as a cost option and showed the car’s speed in a digital display.