1898 De Dion Model E
Frenchman Albert Comte de Dion and his two brothers-in-law (Bouton and Trépardoux) began
steam carriage production in 1883. Thus began the first automobile maker in the world. Petrol-based
powerplants nearly a dozen years later. Their first (and the world's first) production V8 arrived in 1910.
Being first didn't mean they would last as they built their last cars in 1932.