FUN WITH MAPS ISSUE 2026-070  

By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)

LOVELAND, OH (April 28, 2026) – This edition of Fun with Maps gets one driver to finish line of the first motor race ever.

GENTLEMAN, START YOUR STEAM-DRIVEN ENGINE

The world’s first motor race was held on April 28, 1887.  The prize winner, Georges Bouton, was also the only entrant, so the question was more would he make it to the end.

Sponsored by Le Velocipede newspaper, the race was actually a test to see if Bouton’s quadricycle could really do the 60 miles an hour as claimed.  The course ran from the Neuilly Bridge in Paris to the Bois de Boulogne.  It took Bouton 1 hour and 14 minutes to cover the 29-kilometer route.

Bouton was a toymaker and engineer who partnered with Jules-Albert de Dion to form the de Dion-Bouton automobile company, the largest in the world for a time.

Today a Paris bus could take you from Neuilly to the Bois in 17 minutes. Even bicycling would be faster than Bouton’s racing speed.

This map of Paris from 1575 is by Braun and Hogenberg.

Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps. Visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Fun with Maps here on Loveland Beacon.