First Electric Vehicle
The world’s first reasonably functional electric vehicle was made in 1881 – just over a year after Edison’s public unveiling of the electric light bulb. It travelled up to fourteen kilometres an hour.
You can read all about the new reverse-engineered model here. The opening paragraph:
As more and more mainstream car manufacturers join a new wave of electric vehicle development, it looks like we’re definitely headed for an electric transport future. While powering a car with an electric motor is not exactly a new innovation, you may be surprised to learn exactly how old the technology is. A team led by Horst Schultz – the director and founder of Germany’s Autovision Museum – has spent the last year or so painstakingly recreating the world’s first street-ready electric car, designed and created by English scientists William Ayrton and John Perry, and which first hit the streets in 1881.
Felicity Banks 
Ann said,
November 20, 2011 at 9:38 am
Someone has been reading Cracked again….
Louise Curtis said,
November 20, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Ann: Actually, no! That I saw through facebook.
Ann said,
November 20, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Lol – I did too – someone linked to the Cracked article on Facebook!
Louise Curtis said,
November 20, 2011 at 6:42 pm
Ann: Gotta love the way modern tech fuels a love for old tech.
W said,
November 20, 2011 at 7:01 pm
I just found that this looks really good and loads heaps better when I view it on my phone! Guess how i’m going to check your blog from now on?
Louise Curtis said,
November 21, 2011 at 4:48 pm
W: cool. What kind of phone?
W said,
November 22, 2011 at 6:27 pm
It’s my Nokia, using Ovi as the OS.