The 1886 Benz Motorwagen is considered the world's first modern car. Developed by German automobile engineer Karl Benz, the Motorwagen has a one-cylinder gas engine designed by Benz himself, belt drive, rack and pinion steering and trembler coil ignition. It was in this automobile that Karl Benz's wife, Bertha, became the first person in history to drive in an automobile over a long distance. It is said that she set out early one August morning in 1888 with her sons, and without fuel and facing a torrent of challenges solved every single one. Bertha even pushed the automobile at one point. Bertha and Karl Benz's contributions helped the automobile become one of the "most important cultural advances of the new era."