The second car of Siegfried Marcus at the Technisches Museum Vienna.
At the age of 12, he began working as an apprentice mechanic.
Five years later, he joined an engineering company that built telegraph lines.
Later on, he became an assistant to Professor Carl Ludwig, a physiologist.
Around 1860, Marcus embarked on constructing his first self-propelled vehicle.
At that time, the Austrian regions, now part of Poland, had begun to produce oil.
From this refining process emerged kerosene, lubricating oil, and an incidental byproduct: gasoline.
This breakthrough led to the world’s first carburetor, which he patented in 1864.
The first car of Siegfried Marcus.
When ready to roll, the vehicle was lowered and off it went.
Marcus dismantled this vehicle because it was too clumsy, and redirected his efforts toward refining its design.
The car was said to reach a top speed of 10 mph.
Marcus likely constructed a third and a fourth vehicle as well.
Subsequent models were refined, incorporating steering mechanisms, brakes, clutches, and other essential features.
None of these later models exist today.
However, his rightful place in history was tragically overshadowed during the German annexation of Austria in 1938.
As a Jew, Marcus fell victim to the insidious machinations of Nazi propaganda.
His works were systematically obliterated, his name expunged from educational materials, and his public memorials dismantled.
Due to this courageous initiative, the automobile survived, along with a few records of its invention.
Vienna’s mayor unveiled such a monument and placed it in the care of the Viennese State.
