In 1908, there was a car race from New York to Paris.

Thomas Flyer in Manchuria, 1908

In the early 20th century, when automobiles were in their infancy, the idea of driving long distances was still ambitious. But that was precisely the challenge of the 1908 New York to Paris race, a bold, 22,000-mile competition that spanned three continents during the dead of winter. On the morning of February 12, six teams representing four countries — France, Germany, Italy, and the United States — gathered in front of 250,000 spectators in Times Square in New York City. The cars and their teams, made up of drivers, mechanics, and journalists, departed at 11:15 a.m. The American Thomas Flyer car quickly pulled into the lead. Behind it came Italy’s Zust, Germany’s Protos, and three entries from France — a Motobloc, a De Dion, and a Sizaire-Naudin (the latter broke down and dropped out of the race after just 96 miles).

The ambitious plan was for the teams to reach San Francisco within 22 days; from there, a ship would take them to Alaska, where they would drive across a presumably frozen Bering Strait into Siberia, continue across Russia and Europe, and finally reach Paris. But the race didn’t exactly take place as planned. The cars took twice that time to reach the West Coast, and the spring thaw made the Alaskan route too difficult. Competitors were instead rerouted to Seattle, shipped across the Pacific to Japan, and then shipped again across the Sea of Japan to Vladivostok, Russia.

Along the way, drivers endured blizzards, sandstorms, and nearly impassable roads — if there were roads at all. Mechanical problems, personnel changes, and visa delays also caused setbacks. In the end, just three of the original six cars completed the journey. On July 30, the Thomas Flyer finally reached Paris. A police officer initially refused to let the car proceed with its broken headlight, but a passerby offered up a bicycle light. Though the Protos had technically arrived three days earlier, organizers issued a penalty for shortcuts taken along the way. So at 6 p.m., after a 169-day journey, the American car officially won the great race.

By the Numbers

Did you know?

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford developed an electric car together.

Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's friendship has been well documented, and along with their shared vacation homes and camping trips, the two collaborated on new technology together. In January 1914, Ford confirmed to The New York Times that he was working with Edison on a low-cost, long-range electric vehicle. Edison worked to design a durable battery that was also lightweight, and Ford planned to manufacture the cars in a new plant to be run by his son, Edsel Ford.

At least two known prototypes were built: a tiller-steered design with batteries under the seat, and a second design that incorporated elements from the Model T along with a different motor position and an extra bank of batteries. Despite high expectations, the project never went to market. Edison’s nickel-iron batteries were still too big and inefficient, and refinements to it were quickly outpaced by improvements in fuel engines and infrastructure. By the 1920s, Ford and Edison had quietly abandoned the idea.