What self-moving vehicle did Leonardo da Vinci sketch without an animal or person pulling it?
Answer
Self-propelled cart
Leonardo da Vinci sketched a self-propelled cart powered by wound springs.
The cart appears in drawings from around 1478 to 1480 and is often described as an early ancestor of the automobile or programmable machine. Its two main drive wheels were connected to mechanisms that could be wound before operation. A steering system used pins and shaped components to determine the cart’s route, allowing it to follow a preset path rather than being actively steered like a modern car.
The machine may have been intended for theatrical performances or court spectacles. It did not use an engine, fuel, or electrical power. Instead, its stored mechanical energy came from springs, much like a large clockwork device.
Some modern reconstructions have demonstrated that the mechanism can move. The design should not be confused with a modern automobile: Leonardo’s cart was small, limited in range, and unable to carry out autonomous navigation in the modern electronic sense.