What self-propelled machine did Leonardo da Vinci design around 1478, centuries before motor cars?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart around 1478, centuries before motor cars.

The machine used two large driving wheels and a front steering wheel. Instead of an engine, it was powered by coiled leaf springs hidden inside the cart. A system of gears and cams controlled the release of stored energy, allowing the cart to move for a limited distance without being pushed or pulled by an animal.

Leonardo may have intended the cart for theatrical performances or court entertainments rather than transportation. The mechanism could be set to follow a predetermined route, making it an early example of programmable mechanical motion. It was not a car in the modern sense, because it lacked an internal-combustion engine and could not carry out sustained road travel.

A full-scale working reconstruction was made in the 21st century using Leonardo’s surviving drawings. The cart is therefore better described as a self-propelled cart than as the first automobile.