What is the name of Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart designed around 1478?

Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart designed around 1478 is called Leonardo’s self-propelled cart.

The compact vehicle was powered by coiled springs hidden inside its body. As the springs unwound, they drove the cart’s wheels through a system of gears. A programmable steering mechanism, using blocks placed on a chain, could determine the cart’s path. The design may have been intended for theatrical performances or court spectacles rather than transportation.

The cart is sometimes described as the world’s first automobile, but that wording is an oversimplification. It had no engine and could travel only a limited distance before its stored spring energy ran out. Leonardo left drawings rather than a complete surviving machine, so modern reconstructions have been important in testing how the mechanism worked. In 2006, researchers in Florence built a working model based on the sketches, showing that the design could move under its own stored power.