Main content

The birth of the modern car

Design milestones in the early history of motor vehicles and the people behind them.

The motor car is a feature of contemporary life the world over but when and where did motor vehicles begin? How did we get from the slow, noisy, dangerous, early vehicles of the 19th century to the swish, sleek, practical cars of today? Why did the early electric vehicle – so popular early on and the first car to go faster than a hundred kilometres an hour - suddenly fall out of favour? And who were the early engineers whose major contributions to car design deserve to be better known?
These are some of the questions that Bridget Kendall asks three automotive experts: writer and broadcaster Giles Chapman is the award-winning author of 55 books on car history, culture and design; Larry Edsall also has many automotive books to his name; he has written about cars for many American newspapers and is founding editor at ClassicCars.com; and Gundula Tutt is a leading German restorer of historic vehicles whose work graces many public and private museums. She has a particular interest in the science and technology of car paint and other finishes and is the founding member of the Institute for Automobile Forensics.

[Photo: A restored 1907 veteran car. Credit: RapidEye/Getty Images]

Available now

40 minutes

Last on

Sun 23 May 2021 13:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Thu 20 May 2021 09:06GMT
  • Thu 20 May 2021 23:06GMT
  • Sun 23 May 2021 13:06GMT

Featured in...

Do you use US dollars even though they are not your country’s official currency?

Do you use US dollars even though they are not your country’s official currency?

We would love to hear why for an upcoming Forum about the history of the dollar.

Podcast