What was the first car?

There's no single definitive answer to what the "first car" was, as it depends on how you define "car." Different inventors created self-propelled vehicles at roughly the same time, and what constituted a "car" was evolving.

However, often cited as strong contenders for the title of the first *practical* automobile are vehicles built by Karl Benz (the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, patented in 1886) and Gottlieb Daimler (who built a high-speed internal combustion engine that could be used in vehicles around the same time). Benz's vehicle is often given more credit because it was a complete, self-contained vehicle designed from the outset as such, whereas Daimler's early efforts were more about the engine itself.

Therefore, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen is most frequently cited as the first practical automobile.