The first working steam-powered vehicle was probably designed by Ferdinand Verbiest, a Flemish member of a Jesuit mission in China around 1672. It was a 65 cm-long scale-model toy for the Chinese Emperor, that was unable to carry a driver or a passenger. It is not known if Verbiest's model was ever built.
In 1752, Leonty Shamshurenkov, a Russian peasant, constructed a human-pedalled four-wheeled "auto-running" carriage, and subsequently proposed to equip it with odometer and to use the same principle for making a self-propelling sledge.
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is often credited with building the first self-propelled mechanical vehicle or automobile in about 1769, by adapting an existing horse-drawn vehicle. However, this claim is disputed by some who doubt Cugnot's three-wheeler ever ran or was stable.[citation needed] In 1801, Richard Trevithick built and demonstrated his Puffing Devil road locomotive, believed by many to be the first demonstration of a steam-powered road vehicle. It was unable to maintain sufficient steam pressure for long periods, and was of little practical use. In the 1780s, a Russian inventor of merchant origin, Ivan Kulibin, developed a human-pedalled, three-wheeled carriage with modern features such as a flywheel, brake, Transmission, and bearings; however, it was not developed further. In 1807 Nicéphore Niépce and his brother Claude probably created the world's first internal combustion engine which they called a Pyréolophore, but they chose to install it in a boat on the river Saone in France. Coincidentally, in 1807 the Swiss inventor François Isaac de Rivaz designed his own 'internal combustion engine' and used it to develop the world's first vehicle, to be powered by such an engine. The Niépces' Pyréolophore was fuelled by a mixture of Lycopodium powder (dried Lycopodium moss), finely crushed coal dust and resin that were mixed with oil, whereas de Rivaz used a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. Neither design was very successful, as was the case with others, such as Samuel Brown, Samuel Morey, and Etienne Lenoir with his hippomobile, who each produced vehicles (usually adapted carriages or carts) powered by clumsy internal combustion engines.
In November 1881, French inventor Gustave Trouvé demonstrated a working three-wheeled automobile powered by electricity at the International Exposition of Electricity, Paris.
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Although several other German engineers (including Gottlieb Daimler, Wilhelm Maybach, and Siegfried Marcus) were working on the problem at about the same time, Karl Benz generally is acknowledged as the inventor of the modern automobile.
An automobile powered by his own four-stroke cycle gasoline engine was built in Mannheim, Germany by Karl Benz in 1885, and granted a patent in January of the following year under the auspices of his major company, Benz & Cie., which was founded in 1883. It was an integral design, without the adaptation of other existing components, and included several new technological elements to create a new concept. He began to sell his production vehicles in 1888.
In 1879, Benz was granted a patent for his first engine, which had been designed in 1878. Many of his other inventions made the use of the internal combustion engine feasible for powering a vehicle.
His first Motorwagen was built in 1885, and he was awarded the patent for its invention as of his application on January 29, 1886. Benz began promotion of the vehicle on July 3, 1886, and about 25 Benz vehicles were sold between 1888 and 1893, when his first four-wheeler was introduced along with a model intended for affordability. They also were powered with four-stroke engines of his own design. Emile Roger of France, already producing Benz engines under license, now added the Benz automobile to his line of products. Because France was more open to the early automobiles, initially more were built and sold in France through Roger than Benz sold in Germany.
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New Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet completes the renewal style of the New Mégane family which is built on the strengths that forged the success of its predecessor. Its new appearance is supported by the large folding glass roof, high-gloss finish, black glass roof contrasts with the satin-effect chrome windscreen frame exterior, and the dark red taillights featuring a linear lighting pattern and LED brake lights to provide a distinctive rear lighting character.
The interior of this New Mégane family still presents the same layout with high standard finish of qualified materials available in three choices of trim, which range from dark charcoal and light beige to the charcoal and red two-tone finish with leather seats. Although the dashboard is identical to that of New Mégane Hatchback, the seats offer additional lateral support, while the ‘butterfly wing’ door trim panel is specific to New Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet.
New Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet is available with a choice of seven efficient and eco-friendly petrol and diesel powertrain configurations (depending on the market). The available petrol engines are, the 1.6 16V 110hp engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, the TCe 130 (Turbo Control efficiency) driving through a six-speed manual gearbox, and the 2.0 16V 140hp engine available with the new continuously variable transmission (CVT) for even greater driving comfort thanks to smooth, step-less gearshifts. While the diesel engine range, which comprises the Euro5-homologated powerplants are the dCi 110 DPF, mated either to the brand new six-speed EDC (Efficient Dual Clutch) dual-clutch automatic transmission (see below) or to a manual six-speed gearbox, the dCi 130 DPF which drives through a six-speed manual gearbox, and the dCi 160 DPF also with a six-speed manual gearbox.
Public will get their first opportunity to see this New Mégane Coupé-Cabriolet when it is unveiled at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show (March 4-14). It will also be displayed at L’Atelier Renault on the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
Rounding off the new Megane family is the Coupe-Cabriolet that was formally introduced today ahead of its world premiere at next month's Geneva Salon. Like its predecessor, the new Megane CC is a two door model with an electric folding top that's mostly covered in smoked glass
The four-seater convertible version of the new Megane also gets a fixed glass wind deflector located behind the back seat headrests that is said to allow draft-free driving at speeds of up to 90km/h or 56mph.
The fully-automatic, electro-hydraulic operated two-piece glass top goes up or down in 21 seconds at the press of a button with the Megane CC's boot capacity standing at 417 litres with the roof closed, and 211 litres when open.
Diesel options include the 110HP dCi matted to either a new 6-speed dual clutch automatic transmission or to 6-speed manual gearbox and the 130HP dCi and 160HP dCi that both drive the front wheels through a six-speed manual.
