The history of steam road vehicles comprises the development of vehicles powered by a steam engine for use on land and independent of rails, whether for conventional road use, such as the steam car and steam waggon, or for agricultural or heavy haulage work, such as the traction engine.
Murdoch's model steam carriage of 1784, now in Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum
Steam carriage by Verbiest of 1679
Cugnot's "Fardier à vapeur" ("Steam wagon") of 1769
A replica of Trevithick's 1801 road locomotive Puffing Devil
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot
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Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot was a French inventor who built the world's first full-size and working self-propelled mechanical land-vehicle, the "Fardier à vapeur" – effectively the world's first automobile.
Cugnot's 1770 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris
Engine part of Cugnot's 1770 fardier à vapeur, as preserved at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Paris