The history of the motor car began in Germany when Karl Benz patented his first Motorwagen in 1885. Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach started to work together in Stuttgart and in 1885 they patented a wooden cycle with 100cc gasoline engine, the first motorcycle. These were the ancestors of all motorised transport. Eventually the two firms formed to form Mercedes-Benz and grew to become one of the biggest manufacturers in the world. Around them Adam Opel grew and became the German arm of General Motors, and Henry Ford formed an outpost in Cologne. Hitler's Nazi party were responsible for the formation of Volkswagen and Ferdinand Porsche, the great engineer of that car, formed his own organisation to build sporting cars and his Porsche company has dominated almost every class of motorsport ever since. Other companies have come and gone, but engineers like NSU's Felix Wankel and others contributed to the development of cars.