Cugnot's fardier

What it is

A full-size steam tricycle for hauling guns, with a front boiler and two cylinders driving the single front wheel. It moved at about 4 km/h and is considered the first full-size self-propelled vehicle, though it was hard to steer and had to stop every few minutes.

The second prototype (1770) is preserved at the Conservatoire national des arts et métiers in Paris. The legend that it crashed into a wall in 1770 lacks solid documentary support.

What it led to

• steam road vehicles and the first locomotives
• the automobile as an idea of self-propelled transport

Made possible

• Steam locomotive1804

Links

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas-Joseph_Cugnot
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fardier_%C3%A0_vapeur