Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart powered by wound springs.
The cart appears in drawings from around 1478 to 1480 and is often called Leonardo’s self-propelled cart. Two large leaf springs stored energy, while a system of gears transferred that energy to the wheels. Steering could be set in advance through a programmable mechanism, allowing the cart to follow a predetermined path rather than being driven by a person.
The machine may have been intended for theatrical performances at court, where a moving object could create a dramatic effect. It was not an automobile in the modern sense because it carried no engine, fuel system, or driver. Its movement depended on mechanical energy released from springs.
In 2006, researchers at the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence built a reconstruction. The cart worked when assembled according to a revised interpretation of Leonardo’s drawings, demonstrating the sophistication of his mechanical design.