Porsche is going show off an electric car from 1900 designed by founder Ferdinand Porsche at the 2007 Los Angles Auto Show later this month. The car will be positioned next to its new Porsche Cayenne Hybrid SUV. This is the predecessor of what Porsche Cars claims was the world’s first hybrid car, which followed this one by just a few years.

Even Porsche’s initial all-electric design was revolutionary, despite the fact that electric cars were fairly common (insofar as any automobile was common) at the turn of the last century. Porsche’s electric car was named “most innovative invention” at the Paris World’s fair in 1900, notoriety that resulted in the sale of over 300 of the cars. (cnn)

All of the five hybrid cars produced in 1901 were equipped with Mercedes-Benz engines and were bought by Emil Jellinek. It is told that after further development, the Porsche-Lohner hybrids reached top speeds of 56 miles per hour. Visit the above link for more details.