A brief history of the petrol engine

The automobile was first invented in Europe, with a number of different people contributing significant advances in the late 1800s

In 1879, a German engineer named Nikolaus Otto built the first 4 stroke engine that ran on coal gas. (Current 4 stroke engines still use the same principles 'Otto Engine: internal combustion engine in which the ignition of the compressed fuel-air mixture is initiated by a timed spark')
The first light engine built using an otto stroke was designed by Gottlieb Diamler and Wilhelm Mayback in 1885, working along with Otto. At the same time, and independently, Karl Benz was building the first motorized carriage.
Eventually in 1926, these 2 oldest auto manufacture companies merged to form Daimler-Benz.
After a redesign by Emile Levassor in 1891, the basic design has basically been the same till now.