Some people believe that Jeep invented four-wheel drive. Not so, not by a long shot! According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, English inventor Bramah Joseph Diplock patented a four-wheel drive steam-powered traction engine in 1893. Diplock’s patent also featured four-wheel steering and front, back and center differentials. It was subsequently built and proved functional.
The world’s first four-wheel drive vehicle directly powered by an internal-combustion engine was the Dutch-built Spyker of 1903. The 60hp two-seat sports car featured permanent four-wheel drive and was also the first car with four-wheel brakes.
American designs for four-wheel drive first came from Twyford Motor Car Co., producer of a one-seat Twyford roadster beginning in 1904. Because Twyford Roadsters sold for about $1,000, compared to Henry Ford’s Model T, which was pricedwere produced and the company soon folded. The four-wheel drive Michigan was built in Kalamazoo, Michigan, by Michigan Automobile Co., Ltd., from 1903-’07.
