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Why Bertha Benz took her pioneering car trip in 1888

One of the earliest and most publicised road trips in a motor vehicle took place in 1888, just few years after the German engineer Karl Benz assembled his motorised coach. But during this trip he wasn't at the steering wheel, in fact he didn't take part in the journey at all. His wife and their young children did. Writer and broadcaster Giles Chapman explains why.

[Photo: Digitally colorised photo of Benz Patent Motorwagen of 1885. Credit: Ullstein Bild via Getty Images]

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1 minute