L'Obéissante steam-powered omnibus

In 1873 Amédée Bollée, a bell founder by trade, built the first steam-powered mechanically propelled vehicle capable of transporting twelve passengers, a conductor and a driver. Baptised L’Obéissante (The Obedient) due to its very smooth steering, it was subsequently presented as the first high-speed automobile. With its tubular boiler, chain drive and two two-cylinder V-engines, it could maintain a speed of 30 km/h, reach 40 km/h and mount 12% gradients. On 9 October 1875, at the wheel of his creation, Amédée Bollée covered the 230 kilometres from Le Mans to Paris in 18 hours, including stops for water and meals. When he arrived in the capital, despite his triumphal welcome, the Paris constabulary booked Bollée some seventy-five times, but he was never prosecuted.