As the picture at the right shows, many attempts were being made in England by the 1830's to develop a practical vehicle that didn't need rails. A series of accidents and propaganda from the established railroads caused a flurry of restrictive legislation to be passed and the development of the automobile bypassed England. Several commercial vehicles were built but they were more like trains without tracks. The development of the internal combustion engine had to wait until a fuel was available to combust internally. Gunpowder was tried but didn't work out.
Gunpowder carburetors are still hard to find.
The first gas really did use gas. They used coal gas generated by heating coal in a pressure vessel or boiler. A frenchman named Etienne Lenoir patented the first pratical gas engine in Paris in 1860 and drove a car based on the design from Paris to Joinville in 1862. His one-half horse power engine had a bore of 5 inches and a 24 inch stroke. It was big and heavy and turned 100 rpm.