What Leonardo da Vinci invention was a wheeled vehicle that moved using wound springs?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart powered by wound springs.

The cart appears in Leonardo’s drawings from the late 15th century. Its two large wheels were connected to mechanisms driven by coiled springs, while a steering system allowed the vehicle to follow a programmed route. The design is often described as an early ancestor of the automobile or a mechanical stage prop.

Leonardo probably intended the cart for theatrical performances at court, where a moving device could surprise spectators. Unlike a modern car, it had no engine, brakes, or fuel system. Its motion came from stored mechanical energy released through gears and drums.

A working reconstruction was built in 2006 by Italian researchers Mario Taddei and Edoardo Zanon. The reconstruction supported the interpretation that Leonardo’s drawings described a functioning mechanism, although the original design leaves some details open to debate. It should not be confused with a bicycle, which Leonardo is not reliably documented as having invented.