Frustrated by the limitations of transport, rival engineers Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler set out to liberate humanity from their dependence on the horse.

As early car-makers gained traction with their inventions, the outbreak of the First World War One catapulted the industry into a new era of competition.

As the roaring twenties brought cars to the masses in America, Europe lagged far behind, and Japan struggled to modernise. Changes came with the Second World War.

In the 1950s America entered a golden age of car design, while German and Japanese car makers struggled to recover from the Second World War.