What Leonardo da Vinci invention used a spring-powered mechanism to drive a cart without animals?

Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart used stored spring energy to move without animals.

Leonardo designed the cart around 1478–1480. Two large, coiled leaf springs stored energy, and that energy was transferred through gears to the wheels. A steering system helped control the cart’s direction, while a programmable mechanism based on pegs allowed the route to be set in advance.

The machine is frequently called a predecessor of the automobile, but it was not powered by an engine. Its motion came from wound springs, making it closer to a large clockwork vehicle. Leonardo’s surviving drawings do not provide every construction detail, so modern replicas have been used to investigate how the mechanism may have worked.

In 2006, researchers and builders in Florence created a working replica based on Leonardo’s plans. The cart traveled a short distance under spring power. It may have been intended for theatrical or ceremonial use rather than transportation, possibly producing movement on its own during court events. Its programmable steering is one of its most notable features.