Early Daimler automobile. 19th-century artwork of four men in an early automobile with a Daimler engine. Daimler is a German car manufacturer founded in 1890 following the invention of the petrol engine by German engineer Gottlieb Daimler (1834-1900). Daimler's early work had included using his engine in a four-wheeled 'car' in 1887. This wood engraving dates from circa 1888.