What type of vehicle did Leonardo da Vinci design to move by itself using clockwork mechanisms?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart driven by stored mechanical energy.

The cart appears in Leonardo’s studies from around 1478 to 1480 and is often described as an early ancestor of the automobile or robot. Springs inside the vehicle supplied the power, while a system of gears transmitted motion to the wheels. A programmable steering mechanism using a pegged wheel could determine the cart’s route.

Leonardo may have intended the device for theatrical performances or court spectacles, where a moving object could surprise an audience. It was not a motor car in the modern sense: it had no combustion engine, battery, or driver’s controls. Its movement came from wound springs, much like a large clockwork toy.

The cart’s exact operation was debated for centuries because Leonardo’s drawings are incomplete and some components are difficult to interpret. Reconstructions in the 20th and 21st centuries showed that a working version could be made from the surviving design evidence. The vehicle is therefore a significant early example of autonomous mechanical motion.