Cars and Automobiles Quiz
Benz, Ford, Ferrari, Tesla: 15 questions on the brands, badges and machines that put the world on wheels.
Which carmaker's badge features a charging golden bull?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Lamborghini
Founder Ferruccio Lamborghini was born under the star sign Taurus and loved bullfighting, so he chose a raging bull for his badge and named models like the Miura after fighting bulls.
Ferruccio built tractors before cars and reportedly started his company after Enzo Ferrari dismissed his complaints about a Ferrari's clutch.
Which carmaker uses four interlocking rings as its logo?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Audi
The four rings represent the four companies, Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, that merged in 1932 to form Auto Union, which was later rebranded as Audi.
Founder August Horch lost the rights to his own surname after leaving his first firm, so he translated it into Latin: Audi means listen.
Henry Ford's Model T, the car that brought motoring to the masses, was introduced in which year?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
1908
The Model T went on sale in October 1908, and over 15 million were built by 1927, with the moving assembly line introduced in 1913 slashing its price.
Ford famously said customers could have any colour as long as it was black, though early Model Ts actually came in several colours before 1914.
The original Beetle, designed by Ferdinand Porsche in the 1930s, was built by which carmaker?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Volkswagen
Ferdinand Porsche designed the people's car for Volkswagen, and after the Second World War the Beetle became a global hit with more than 21 million built.
Volkswagen's Wolfsburg factory town was purpose built in 1938 and was originally named the City of the Strength Through Joy Car.
The Civic and the Accord are long running models from which Japanese carmaker?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Honda
Honda launched the Civic in 1972 and the Accord in 1976, and both have been produced continuously ever since, with the Accord among the best-selling cars in American history.
Honda began in 1946 making motorised bicycles and remains the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer alongside its car business.
Volvo was founded in 1927 in which country?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Sweden
Volvo was established in Gothenburg, Sweden, as a subsidiary of the ball bearing maker SKF, and its first car, the ÖV 4, rolled out of the factory in April 1927.
A Volvo engineer, Nils Bohlin, invented the three point seat belt in 1959, and the company opened the patent so every manufacturer could use it.
Who built the Patent-Motorwagen of 1886, generally considered the first practical automobile?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Karl Benz
Karl Benz received German patent 37435 in January 1886 for a three wheeled vehicle powered by a single cylinder petrol engine, which is regarded as the birth certificate of the car.
His wife Bertha Benz took the car on a 106 km (66 mile) drive to Pforzheim in 1888 without telling him, the first long distance road trip in history.
What does the braking safety feature ABS stand for?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Anti-lock Braking System
An anti-lock braking system rapidly pulses the brakes when it senses a wheel about to lock, so the tyres keep gripping and the driver can still steer during an emergency stop.
The technology came from aircraft, and Mercedes-Benz and Bosch put the first electronic ABS on a production car, the S-Class, in 1978.
A four-stroke petrol engine runs on the cycle of intake, compression, power and which final stroke?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Exhaust
In the exhaust stroke the rising piston pushes the burnt gases out through the open exhaust valve, clearing the cylinder for the next intake of fresh fuel and air.
German engineer Nicolaus Otto built the first successful four-stroke engine in 1876, which is why the cycle is still called the Otto cycle.
Which small car, designed by Alec Issigonis, was launched in 1959 with a sideways engine and front wheel drive?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Mini
The original Mini from the British Motor Corporation turned its engine sideways to fit four adults into a car just over 3 metres (10 feet) long, a layout almost every small car now copies.
Three Minis won the Monte Carlo Rally in the 1960s and the car was voted the second most influential car of the twentieth century, behind the Model T.
What was Tesla's first production car, delivered to customers from 2008?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Roadster
The original Tesla Roadster, built on a Lotus Elise derived chassis, began production in March 2008 and was the first highway legal electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells.
Elon Musk launched his personal Roadster into space aboard the first Falcon Heavy rocket in February 2018.
The DeLorean DMC-12, famous from Back to the Future, had which distinctive type of doors?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Gull-wing doors
The DMC-12's gull-wing doors hinge at the roof and swing upwards, and together with its unpainted stainless steel body they made the car an instant icon despite only about 9,000 being built.
John DeLorean's company collapsed in 1982, three years before the film turned his failed car into one of the most recognisable vehicles in the world.
Which Japanese carmaker was founded in 1937 as a spin-off from an automatic loom company?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Toyota
Toyota Motor Co. was incorporated in August 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda as an offshoot of his father's Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, whose weaving machines funded the move into cars.
The spelling was changed from Toyoda to Toyota partly because it takes eight brush strokes to write in Japanese, a number considered lucky.
Which hypercar became the first series production car to exceed 400 km/h (250 mph) in 2005?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 hit 407 km/h (253 mph) at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track on 29 April 2005, using an 8 litre, quad turbocharged W16 engine producing 1,001 PS.
At full speed the Veyron empties its 100 litre fuel tank in about 12 minutes, and its tyres were only rated to survive 15 minutes at that pace.
What do the letters DB stand for in Aston Martin model names such as the DB5?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
David Brown
The DB cars are named for David Brown, the tractor and gear industrialist who bought Aston Martin in 1947 and put his initials on the models that followed.
Brown reportedly bought the company after seeing a newspaper advert offering a high class motor business for sale for 20,000 pounds.
Your results
More to explore
All Technology quizzes →About the Cars and Automobiles Quiz
Karl Benz rolled out the first practical petrol car in 1886, Henry Ford's Model T put America on wheels from 1908, and a century later the Bugatti Veyron became the first production car to pass 400 km/h (250 mph). Car history is full of great founders, famous badges and engineering ideas that every driver uses without thinking.
These 15 questions cover the brands and their logos, the people behind them, landmark models from the Mini to the Tesla Roadster, and a few basics of how an engine and its brakes actually work. It suits petrolheads, pub quizzers and anyone who has ever argued about what the DB in an Aston Martin stands for.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
Who invented the first car?
Karl Benz is credited with the first practical automobile, the three wheeled Benz Patent-Motorwagen of 1886, powered by a single cylinder petrol engine.
What was the first car to go over 400 km/h?
The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 reached 407 km/h (253 mph) at Ehra-Lessien in April 2005, the first series production car to break the 400 km/h barrier.
What does ABS mean on a car?
ABS stands for anti-lock braking system. It pulses the brakes many times a second so the wheels do not lock, letting the driver keep steering during a hard stop.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Which carmaker's badge features a charging golden bull?
Lamborghini Founder Ferruccio Lamborghini was born under the star sign Taurus and loved bullfighting, so he chose a raging bull for his badge and named models like the Miura after fighting bulls. Ferruccio built tractors before cars and reportedly started his company after Enzo Ferrari dismissed his complaints about a Ferrari's clutch. - Which carmaker uses four interlocking rings as its logo?
Audi The four rings represent the four companies, Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer, that merged in 1932 to form Auto Union, which was later rebranded as Audi. Founder August Horch lost the rights to his own surname after leaving his first firm, so he translated it into Latin: Audi means listen. - Henry Ford's Model T, the car that brought motoring to the masses, was introduced in which year?
1908 The Model T went on sale in October 1908, and over 15 million were built by 1927, with the moving assembly line introduced in 1913 slashing its price. Ford famously said customers could have any colour as long as it was black, though early Model Ts actually came in several colours before 1914. - The original Beetle, designed by Ferdinand Porsche in the 1930s, was built by which carmaker?
Volkswagen Ferdinand Porsche designed the people's car for Volkswagen, and after the Second World War the Beetle became a global hit with more than 21 million built. Volkswagen's Wolfsburg factory town was purpose built in 1938 and was originally named the City of the Strength Through Joy Car. - The Civic and the Accord are long running models from which Japanese carmaker?
Honda Honda launched the Civic in 1972 and the Accord in 1976, and both have been produced continuously ever since, with the Accord among the best-selling cars in American history. Honda began in 1946 making motorised bicycles and remains the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer alongside its car business. - Volvo was founded in 1927 in which country?
Sweden Volvo was established in Gothenburg, Sweden, as a subsidiary of the ball bearing maker SKF, and its first car, the ÖV 4, rolled out of the factory in April 1927. A Volvo engineer, Nils Bohlin, invented the three point seat belt in 1959, and the company opened the patent so every manufacturer could use it. - Who built the Patent-Motorwagen of 1886, generally considered the first practical automobile?
Karl Benz Karl Benz received German patent 37435 in January 1886 for a three wheeled vehicle powered by a single cylinder petrol engine, which is regarded as the birth certificate of the car. His wife Bertha Benz took the car on a 106 km (66 mile) drive to Pforzheim in 1888 without telling him, the first long distance road trip in history. - What does the braking safety feature ABS stand for?
Anti-lock Braking System An anti-lock braking system rapidly pulses the brakes when it senses a wheel about to lock, so the tyres keep gripping and the driver can still steer during an emergency stop. The technology came from aircraft, and Mercedes-Benz and Bosch put the first electronic ABS on a production car, the S-Class, in 1978. - A four-stroke petrol engine runs on the cycle of intake, compression, power and which final stroke?
Exhaust In the exhaust stroke the rising piston pushes the burnt gases out through the open exhaust valve, clearing the cylinder for the next intake of fresh fuel and air. German engineer Nicolaus Otto built the first successful four-stroke engine in 1876, which is why the cycle is still called the Otto cycle. - Which small car, designed by Alec Issigonis, was launched in 1959 with a sideways engine and front wheel drive?
Mini The original Mini from the British Motor Corporation turned its engine sideways to fit four adults into a car just over 3 metres (10 feet) long, a layout almost every small car now copies. Three Minis won the Monte Carlo Rally in the 1960s and the car was voted the second most influential car of the twentieth century, behind the Model T. - What was Tesla's first production car, delivered to customers from 2008?
Roadster The original Tesla Roadster, built on a Lotus Elise derived chassis, began production in March 2008 and was the first highway legal electric car to use lithium-ion battery cells. Elon Musk launched his personal Roadster into space aboard the first Falcon Heavy rocket in February 2018. - The DeLorean DMC-12, famous from Back to the Future, had which distinctive type of doors?
Gull-wing doors The DMC-12's gull-wing doors hinge at the roof and swing upwards, and together with its unpainted stainless steel body they made the car an instant icon despite only about 9,000 being built. John DeLorean's company collapsed in 1982, three years before the film turned his failed car into one of the most recognisable vehicles in the world. - Which Japanese carmaker was founded in 1937 as a spin-off from an automatic loom company?
Toyota Toyota Motor Co. was incorporated in August 1937 by Kiichiro Toyoda as an offshoot of his father's Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, whose weaving machines funded the move into cars. The spelling was changed from Toyoda to Toyota partly because it takes eight brush strokes to write in Japanese, a number considered lucky. - Which hypercar became the first series production car to exceed 400 km/h (250 mph) in 2005?
Bugatti Veyron The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 hit 407 km/h (253 mph) at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track on 29 April 2005, using an 8 litre, quad turbocharged W16 engine producing 1,001 PS. At full speed the Veyron empties its 100 litre fuel tank in about 12 minutes, and its tyres were only rated to survive 15 minutes at that pace. - What do the letters DB stand for in Aston Martin model names such as the DB5?
David Brown The DB cars are named for David Brown, the tractor and gear industrialist who bought Aston Martin in 1947 and put his initials on the models that followed. Brown reportedly bought the company after seeing a newspaper advert offering a high class motor business for sale for 20,000 pounds.
Browse other categories
Every category has its own quizzes, each with instant explanations.