History of the diesel car Production diesel car history started in 1933 with Citroën's Rosalie, which featured a diesel engine option (the 1,766 cc 11UD engine) in the Familiale (estate or station wagon) model. The Mercedes-Benz 260D and the Hanomag Rekord were introduced in 1936. Immediately after World War II, and throughout the 1950s and 1960s, diesel-powered cars began to gain limited popularity, particularly for commercial applications, such as ambulances, taxis, and station wagons used for delivery work. Most were conventional in design. Mercedes-Benz offered a continuous stream of diesel-powered taxis, beginning in 1949 with their 170D powered by the OM-636 engine. Later, in 1959
London to Brighton Veteran Car Run country and in the town and an escort had been required to walk ahead of the vehicle. The 1865 act had required the escort to carry a red flag at a distance of . The run was also the first meet of the Motor Car Club, of which Lawson was President. The event started with a breakfast at the Charing Cross Hotel, which included the symbolic tearing in two by Lord Winchelsea of a red flag. The competitors gathered outside the Metropole Hotel, with the cars accompanied by a "flying escort" – estimated by one witness as "probably 10,000" –