History! ::: World’s first hybrid car is Armstrong Phaeton 1896. Developed by Heri. E. Day, and produced by the Armstrong Company for Roger Mechanical Carriage Company, it has a gasoline 6.5-liter, two-cylinder engine and dynamo with a flywheel connected to the battery. Dinamo (and regenerative braking) is used to charge the battery, which provides the necessary energy to start the engine. This system predates a self-starter Cadillac’s solution by impressive 16 years.
In addition to being helped to charge the batteries and start the car, the dynamo is also used instead of candles, to provided electricity for electric lamps of the car. Dej also gave Armstrong a semi-automatic transmission. With three forward gears and a reverse gear, the driver swaps cogs with a selector on the steering column. When changing gears, an electric clutch automatically disengages and reengages, negating the need of a clutch pedal.
