Crumple zones
Parts of the car designed to collapse and absorb crash energy.
07 / History & future
140 years
on four wheels.
How the car went from a noisy three-wheeler to a computer on wheels, the safety inventions that saved millions of lives, and where it is all heading next.
01
How the shape & aerodynamics evolved
Same job, very different shapes. Switch eras in the interactive wind-tunnel blueprint below to see how streamlining cut aerodynamic drag (Cd) from 0.65 in the 1920s to 0.20 on modern EVs.
MOTORWAGEN
MODEL T
STREAMLINE
SMALL CAR
WEDGE
HATCHBACK
ELECTRIC CROSSOVER
02
Timeline
The moments that shaped the car you will drive.
- 1769
Steam carriage
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot builds a steam-powered tractor for the French army. It crashes into a wall.
- 1886
The first car
Karl Benz patents his three-wheeled Motorwagen. Bertha Benz drives it 66 miles in 1888 to prove it works.
- 1908
Ford Model T
Henry Ford's car for the masses. The moving assembly line (1913) cuts build time from 12 hours to about 90 minutes.
- 1934
Front-wheel drive + monocoque
The Citroën Traction Avant combines a one-piece body with front-wheel drive, the recipe most cars still use.
- 1938
The People's Car
The VW Beetle goes into production. Over 21 million are eventually built.
- 1948
Land Rover
A rugged British 4x4 sketched in the sand at a Welsh beach. It becomes the Defender.
- 1959
Mini and the seatbelt
The Mini puts four seats in a 3-metre car. Volvo introduces the three-point seatbelt and shares the patent with everyone.
- 1967
Breathalyser
The UK introduces the drink-drive limit and roadside breath tests.
- 1973
Oil crisis
Fuel prices soar. Small, efficient Japanese cars start winning buyers worldwide.
- 1978
ABS
Bosch and Mercedes-Benz bring electronic anti-lock brakes to production cars.
- 1983
Belts become law
Wearing a front seatbelt becomes compulsory in the UK.
- 1997
Toyota Prius
The first mass-produced hybrid goes on sale in Japan.
- 2008
Tesla Roadster
Proves electric cars can be fast and desirable. The Model S follows in 2012.
- 2010
Nissan Leaf
The first mass-market electric car, later built in Sunderland.
- 2015
Dieselgate
VW is caught cheating emissions tests. Diesel's reputation never recovers.
- 2030
End of petrol & diesel
New pure petrol and diesel cars can no longer be sold in the UK. Hybrids follow in 2035.
03
Safety inventions
Road deaths in Great Britain hit a peacetime peak of 7,985 in 1966. In 2024 there were 1,633, with far more cars on the road.
SourceDfT · Reported Road Casualties GB
Dashed lines cross years the long-run table does not list. The 1941 peak came during the wartime blackout, when cars drove at night with masked headlights.
1950s
1959
Seatbelts
Still the single most effective safety device.
1978
ABS
Lets you steer while braking hard.
1981
Airbags
Mercedes S-Class first; now 6 to 10 per car.
1995
Stability control
Brakes individual wheels to stop skids. Mandatory in new EU cars since 2014.
2010s
Emergency braking
Cameras and radar brake for you if you don't.
2010s
Lane keeping
Nudges the steering if you drift out of your lane.
2024
Driver monitoring
New EU and UK-type-approved cars must warn drowsy or distracted drivers.
04
Britain builds cars
The UK makes around 800,000 cars a year, most of them for export. Many famous British brands are now foreign-owned but still built here.
Nissan, Sunderland
The UK's biggest car plant since 1986. Builds the Qashqai, Juke and Leaf.
Mini, Oxford
Cars have been built at Cowley since 1913. Now home of the Mini.
JLR, Solihull & Halewood
Range Rover, Defender's ancestors and Jaguar Land Rover's British heart.
Toyota, Burnaston
Builds the Corolla in Derbyshire for all of Europe.
Rolls-Royce, Goodwood
Every Rolls-Royce in the world is hand-built in West Sussex.
Bentley, Crewe
Luxury cars built in Cheshire since 1946.
Aston Martin & McLaren
Gaydon in Warwickshire and Woking in Surrey. James Bond and F1 pedigree.
Motorsport Valley
Most Formula 1 teams are based in a band of England around Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.
05
Self-driving: the six levels
Car makers love to overstate this. In the UK, you are always responsible for the car unless it is a legally approved self-driving system.
L0
No automation
You do everything. Warnings only.
L1
Driver assistance
Cruise control or lane keeping, one at a time.
L2
Partial automation
Steers and brakes together, but you must watch the road at all times. Most "autopilot" systems today.
L3
Conditional
The car drives in limited conditions and can hand back to you. Very few cars, at low speeds.
L4
High automation
No driver needed in a defined area. Robotaxis in some cities.
L5
Full automation
Drives anywhere, any time. Doesn't exist yet.