Manufacturer's first ever cars Images

Ever wondered about the very first car ever made by BMW, Jaguar, Toyota, Vauxhall?

Chances are you've heard of the Mini Mark I, Land Rover Series 1 or Volkswagen Beetle - or, if you're a car buff, some of the other cars in our gallery, but we think there are some surprises here.

You only have to go back to 1984 for the first ever Seat, or 1989 for Lexus. But for Fiat and Renault you'll have to go back two centuries.

The likes of first car from Bentley, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar and Aston Martin may not surprise - but you probably won't see Mazda's or Kia's first car coming.

This gallery takes a look at the very first models produced by the world's most famous car manufacturers.

1 of 32

Alfa Romeo - 1910 A.L.F.A 24 HP

Alfa Romeo's first car was the A.L.F.A 24 HP, which was manufactured in 1910. It made its first notable appearance in the 1911 Targa Florio race.

It used a four-side valve engine that delivered 42bhp and a top speed of 62 mph.

A.L.F.A. stands for 'Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili'.
Aston Martin - 1937 Aston Martin Sports Car

Aston Martins first car was actually made from the chassis of a 1908 Isotta-Fraschini and a four-cylinder Coventry-Simplex engine.

Many of Aston Martin's first cars were made from parts from other cars and where essentially made for racing. The possibility of major production of its own models was hindered by the war.

But one of Aston's first road cars was the 1937 Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports Car.
Audi - 1910 Audi Type A

Audi's first car was the Audi Type A 10/22 hp Sport-Phaeton, which was produced in 1910.
Bentley - 1921 Bentley 3-litre

Bentley's first car was produced in 1921 and was well received as it won 24 hours of Le Mans in 1924.

Its engine delivered a power output of 70bhp and could reach a top speed of 80 mph.
BMW - 1928 Bentley Dixi

BMW's first car was the Dixi, which was produced in 1928.

It was based on the Austin 7 and used a 4 cyl engine that produced 15bhp.
Bugatti - 1924 Bugati Type 35

Bugatti was always considered a very niche manufacturer and as a result of this it struggled when it was founded in 1909.

One of Bugatti's first successful models was the 1924 Type 35, which was a collaboration of many different prototype models.

The Type 35 used a 2.0-litre straight-eight engine which developed 90bhp and achieved a rev count of up to 6,000rpm.
Caterham and Lotus - 1957 Lotus Seven

Both of these manufacturers' first cars were very similar versions of one another.

As Lotus was founded earlier than Caterham in 1952, it produced the Lotus Seven sports car in 1957. Caterham, founded in 1973, bought the rights to the Lotus Seven sports car and produced the Caterham 7 in 1973.

The Caterham 7/Lotus seven was powered by a 40bhp engine.
Chevrolet - 1914 Chevrolet Baby Grand

Chevrolet's first car was the Baby Grand and was built to compete with the highly popular Model T Ford, with its electric starter capabilities being a definite advantage over the Ford.

It used a four-cylinder 20bhp engine with a three-speed manual gearbox.
Citroen - 1919 Citroen type A

Citroens first car was the 1919 Citroen Type A, which used a four-cylinder engine with a power output of 18 hp and a top speed of 40 mph.
Dacia - 1969 Dacia 1300

Although Dacia produced a few models before the Dacia 1300, they were largely based on Renault models like the Renault 8.

The Dacia 1300 was based on the Renault 12, but had more of a Dacia input compared to previous models.

One of the engines available for the 1969 Dacia 1300 was a 1289cc delivering 53 hp.
Fiat - 1899 3 ½ CV

Fiats first car was built in 1899 and was called the 3 ½ CV. It used a boxer twin engine that delivered 5bhp. There were only eight copies ever made.
Ford - 1903 Ford Model A

The first Ford was the Model A and it was produced in 1903. It delivered 8bhp and could reach a top speed of 28mph.
Honda - 1963 Honda S500

Honda is renowned for making motorbikes and although formed in 1946, only made its first production car in 1963.

It used a dual overhead cam straight-4 engine that produced 44bhp at 8000 rpm. It was matched with a 4-speed manual transmission.
Hyundai - 1975 Hyundai Pony

The 1968 Cortina was officially the first car Hyundai produced, but was produced alongside Ford.

After Hyundai decided to design its own cars, it released the Hyundai Pony in 1975. It used a 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine producing 67bhp.

The 1.4-litre was the most powerful of the two as it clocked a top speed of 92mph.
Jaguar - 1935 SS Jaguar

Originally known as Swallow Sidecar Company, changing its name to Jaguar cars ltd in 1945, the first car produced under the Jaguar name was the 1935 SS 90.

It used a six-cylinder engine with a power output of 68bhp. It is expected to have reached a top speed of 90mph.
Land Rover - 1948 Land Rover Series 1

Many prototypes were produced but one of the first Land Rover models was the Land Rover Series 1. It used a 1.6-litre petrol engine that produced about 50bhp. This was matched with a four-speed gearbox.
Kia - 1962 Kia Master K-360

Kia's first vehicle was the 1962 Master K-360, which was a small three wheel truck with a flatbed cargo space in the rear.

There were only 67 Master K-360's produced, but Kia nevertheless sold 25,000 three-wheelers between 1962 and 1973.
Lexus - 1989 Lexus LS 400

Lexus are a premium sub-brand to Toyota and formed in 1989.

After deciding to produce a premium car they started a project codenamed F1 (Flagship One). This went on to become the Lexus LS 400.

The Lexus LS used a powerful 4.0-litre V8 engine producing 250 hp.
Mazda - 1931 Mazdago

This was Mazda's first vehicle and was a three wheel 'truck styled bike'.

It used an air-cooled 1-cylinder engine.
Mercedes Benz - 1928

One of Mercedes-Benz first significant models was the 1928 Mercedes-Benz SSK roadster.

The SSK roadster used a 7-litre engine that produced around 200-300bhp and was capable of a top speed of 120mph.
Mini - 1959 Mini Mark 1

Mini's first ever model was the Mark 1, also known as the Austin seven, and was produced in 1959.

Just like every other Mini model to date, the Mark 1 offers a snug and practical body style. The Mark 1 had a top speed of 72.4mph and could reach 0-60mph in 27.1 seconds.
Nissan - 1913 Datsun DAT

Although Nissan didn't 'technically' put its name to a car until sometime in the 1930's, it was releasing cars under the name Datsun for years.

Its first vehicle was the 1913 Datsun DAT 1, which was based on the original DAT prototype.

It used a two-cylinder V2 engine which produced 10bhp.
Peugeot - 1901 Peugeot Type 36

Peugeot started producing cars near the end of the 19th century.

Although they produced many different models the introduction of the internal combustion engine called for a complete redesign as steam power was obsolete.

One of Peugeot's first cars was the 1901 Peugeot Type 36. It used a single-cylinder petrol engine and produced between 5 and 8bhp.
Porsche - 1948 Porsche 356

The Porsche 356 is considered by many to be the first Porsche as it was the first car to be sold by the company.

The Porsche 356 had a rear-mounted air-cooled flat-4 engine.
Renault - 1898 Renault Voiturette

The Renault Voiturette, or Renault Little Car as it was sometimes known, was produced between 1898 and 1903.

It used a one-cylinder engine that could reach a top speed of 20mph.
Saab - 1946 Saab 92001

The Saab 92001 was produced in 1946 and used a two-cylinder petrol engine that produced 18bhp.
Seat - 1984 Seat Ibiza MK1

Although Seat has been established since 1950 it wasn't until 1984 that it produced a model entirely on its own. This was the Seat Ibiza MK1

The 1984 Seat Ibiza MK1 had a variety of different engines, including a 1.5-litre petrol which developed 85bhp.
Skoda - 1934 Skoda Popular

Skoda moved through a hierarchy of vehicles from motorbikes, to trucks and then to cars.

Skoda started making automobiles in 1905, but its first significant car model was the 1934 Skoda Popular.

It used a four-cylinder engine with a three-speed manual transmission. It produced 20-30bhp.
Toyota - 1936 Toyoda Model AA

Toyota was originally called Toyoda; name after founder Kiichir? Toyoda, but was later renamed Toyota because of 'farm like' connotations of the word Toyoda.

Its first car was the 1936 Toyoda Model AA saloon and was the first car to use the 'American streamlining' design. Its engine delivered 62bhp.
Vauxhall - 1903 Vauxhall

Vauxhall officially built its first car in 1903, which led the way for bigger and better designs.

The 1903 model produced just 5bhp and used two forward gears and no reverse gears. It could reach a top speed of 25mph.
Volkswagen - 1946 Volkswagen Beetle Type 1

The first Volkswagen model was actually put into motion by Adolf Hitler in the 1930's and was to be 'the Peoples car', an affordable car to seat two adults and three children.

There were many prototypes of this car produced from 1935 to 1937, but it wasn't put into production until after the war in 1946.

Volkswagens first car was called the Volkswagen Beetle Type 1 and it built on the original blueprints from the 1930's. It used a 1.1-litre flat-four air cooled engine.
Volvo - 1927 Volvo OV 4

Volvo's first car was the 1927 OV 4, which stands for 'Oppen Vagn 4 cylindrar'.

The car used a four-cylinder engine with a power output of 28bhp. It had a top speed of 56mph.