When did the first cars appear in Russia? Before answering this question, you need to understand the very concept of what a car is.
What is a car?
The word "car" consists of two parts. “Auto” - is of Greek origin and means “myself”, and “mobile” in Latin means “movement”.
It turns out that a car is a device that can move independently. That is, this design should have its own propulsion mechanism - steam, gas, electric, gasoline, diesel - no matter what, if only with its help the wheels spin. So, the first car in Russia appeared exactly when the construction invented by some craftsman was able to move without the help of horse traction or muscular efforts of a person.
But still, the founders of the domestic automotive industry should be considered those Russian “left-handers” who were able to make their structures move without the participation of horses, and it would be unfair not to mention them.
The origin of the domestic automotive industry
The history of the first Russian car began on November 1, 1752 in St. Petersburg. There for the first time a four-wheeled stroller was shown, which was able to move without the help of horses and other draft animals. It was a steel mechanism, driven by a gate of a special design and the muscular efforts of one person. The stroller could carry, in addition to the driver, two more passengers, and at the same time moved at a speed of up to 15 km / h. The designer of the car was an ordinary self-taught serf peasant who lived in the Nizhny Novgorod province - Leonty Lukyanovich Shamshurenkov. The mechanism he created, of course, cannot be considered a car, but this was no longer a cart.
Much closer to the usual vision of the car for us was the Russian designer Ivan Petrovich Kulibin.
Crew of Kulibin
The design, invented by Kulibin, consisted of a three-wheeled chassis, on which a double passenger seat was installed. The driver himself, who was standing behind this seat, had to press alternately on two pedals associated with the mechanism of rotation of the wheels. The crew of Kulibin is especially noteworthy in that it contained almost all the basic structural elements of the cars of the future, and it was he who first used gear shifting, a braking device, bearings and steering wheel in his stroller.
The appearance of the first car in Russia
In 1830, K. Yankevich, who was a recognized master of carriage affairs, together with his assistants assembled “Quickroat” - a self-propelled wheeled vehicle with a steam engine. The engine had a device based on the designs of steam power units by I.I. Polzunov, M.E. Cherepanov and P.K. Frolov. According to the inventor, pine charcoal was to be used as fuel.
The design was an indoor wheeled wagon, which provided, in addition to a place for the driver, also a place for passengers.
However, the mechanism turned out to be very bulky and difficult to operate. Therefore, the design of the machine was not viable. Nevertheless, it was the first domestic car in Russia, which really could be considered a real self-propelled car with a steam engine.
The appearance of an engine capable of running on gasoline gave an impetus to the further development of automotive equipment, since it was thanks to its relatively compact dimensions that it could become a source of driving force for future cars.
The first cars in Russia with ICE
According to some research historians, the first ICE car was designed in 1882 in a small town on the Volga. The authors of the car were the engineers Putilov and Khlobov. However, official documents that reliably confirm this fact were never found. Therefore, it is believed that the very first cars in Russia equipped with liquid-fuel engines were imported from abroad.
In 1891, Vasily Navorotsky, who worked as an editor of one of the Odessa newspapers, imported the French Panar-Levassor car to Russia. It turns out that for the first time in our country, a gas car was seen by residents of Odessa.
The progress in the form of gasoline cars reached the capital of the Russian Empire only after 4 years. On August 9, 1895, St. Petersburg saw the first gasoline self-propelled car. A little later, several more such cars were brought to the capital.
Apparently, the appearance of imported samples on the world market prompted the action of domestic design engineers.
The first Russian car with ICE
In 1896, at a Nizhny Novgorod exhibition, a car of a completely domestic assembly equipped with a gasoline engine was presented for public viewing. The car was named: “Frese and Yakovlev Automobile”, in honor of its designers - E. A. Yakovlev and P. A. Frese. Yakovlev plant manufactured a transmission and engine for a car. Chassis, wheels and the body itself were produced at the Frese factory. However, it cannot be said that the appearance of the Russian car was exclusively the merit of Russian engineers.
Western model for a Russian car
Most likely, Frese and Yakovlev used the experience of the German designer Benz in the manufacture of their car, and his Benz-Victoria car was taken as the standard, which they saw when they visited the Chicago exhibition in 1893, where it was exhibited, as it was constructive and in its own way In appearance, the domestic machine was very similar to the German model.
True, it is worth paying tribute to Russian engineers, the car was not a wholly-owned copy of a foreign colleague. The chassis, body and transmission of the domestic car were significantly improved, which was emphasized in the press of that time, closely monitoring the latest in discoveries and inventions.
The documented parameters of the domestic machine, as well as the drawings, were not preserved. All judgments about the car are based on surviving from that time, descriptions and photographs. Actually, it is not even reliably known how many cars of this series were produced at all. But in any case, these were the first cars in Russia with which the mass production of Russian cars began.
The finish line for the first gasoline car
The history of the machine assembled by Frese and his companion ended quickly. In 1898, the engineer and industrialist Yakovlev died, which, in fact, was the beginning of the end for the first-born of the domestic automotive industry. The death of the companion forced Frese to buy engines for cars abroad, which, of course, was extremely unprofitable for him. In 1910, he sold all established production to the Russian-Baltic factory.
Nevertheless, the fact that the first Russian-made cars in Russia appeared precisely thanks to Frese and Yakovlev was forever inscribed in the history of the domestic automotive industry, and RBVZ became the next step in the development of Russian automobile production.
Russian-Baltic Carriage Works (RBVZ)
The first automobile brand in Russia received the official name Russo-Balt. Under it, a year before the purchase of the Frese factory, in the summer of 1909, the company produced the first car of its own production.
Cars of this brand have proven themselves to be durable and very reliable, as evidenced by the success of cars participating in long-distance runs, automobile competitions, and even in international rallies. There is a documented fact that one of the cars, manufactured in 1910 under the index "S-24", over 4 years of operation passed 80 thousand km without serious damage and repair. Even the imperial garage in 1913 made an order for two models of K-12 and S-24 cars.
60% of the fleet of the Russian army consisted of Russo-Balt vehicles. Moreover, not only cars were purchased from the plant, but also a chassis for use on armored cars.
An important fact is that almost all the details, components and mechanisms of the plant were manufactured on their own. Abroad, only tires, ball bearings, and oil manometers were purchased.
RBVZ produced cars in large series, and inside each of them there was almost complete interchangeability for components and parts.
In 1918, the enterprise was nationalized and continued its history as an armored factory.