Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart is often called an early ancestor of the automobile.
Leonardo designed the spring-powered cart in the late 15th century. Coiled springs stored energy, while a system of gears and other mechanical parts transferred that energy to the wheels. The vehicle could move without being pushed or pulled by an animal.
The cart was probably intended for theatrical performances or court spectacles rather than ordinary transportation. Its steering was limited, and the springs could provide only a short period of motion. It therefore was not a car in the modern engineering sense.
In 2006, researchers and museum staff built a full-scale working reconstruction based on Leonardo’s drawings. The project showed that the mechanism could move, although details of the original design remain open to interpretation because Leonardo’s sketches do not preserve every construction measurement.