The first self-propelled vehicle in the world: this is the title claimed by the carriage –or, better, by the fardier- that Nicolas Joseph Cugnot built for the Parisian Military Arsenal in 1769. Three wheels, two cylinders and over 4 tons of weight move at a maximum speed of 4 km/h. The invention did not have much of a future, and that first, ten-minute long race that went down in history, ended with a crash against a wall: in fact, the first self-propelled vehicle could neither steer nor stop. The original fardier is exhibited at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris; the one on display here is a replica on a 7/10 scale.
Dono del Museo Militare della Cecchignola, Roma
Veicolo a vapore
Motore: 2 cilindri verticali
Cilindrata: 50.000 cc
Velocità: 4 km/h
Peso: 4 tonnellate circa