What type of vehicle did Leonardo da Vinci design that could move without being pushed by people or animals?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart that could move without being pushed by people or animals.

The machine appears in drawings from around 1478 to 1480 and is often described as an early ancestor of the automobile. Its motion came from wound-up springs, while a system of gears controlled the release of stored energy. The front mechanism could be set to follow a predetermined path, making the cart suitable for theatrical presentations or ceremonies.

Leonardo probably conceived the cart as an automaton rather than as everyday transportation. It had no engine, steering wheel, fuel tank, or modern braking system. Because the original drawing is incomplete and the machine did not survive, modern reconstructions differ in their interpretations of its mechanism.

A full-scale replica was built in the twentieth century by researchers at the Museo della Scienza e della Tecnologia in Milan. The cart is important in engineering history because it shows how springs and programmed motion could create autonomous movement centuries before motor vehicles.