What type of vehicle did Leonardo da Vinci design with a wooden body and two internal springs?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart powered by two internal springs.

The cart was drawn around 1478–1480 and is often described as an early robot or programmable vehicle. Wound springs supplied the energy, while cables and cams controlled the movement of the wheels. Leonardo may have intended it for theatrical performances or court pageants rather than practical transportation.

The design was not a motor vehicle in the modern sense. It had no engine, fuel tank, or steering system like a car. Its importance lies in the way mechanical energy and timed motion were combined. In 2006, researchers at the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence built a working model, showing that the basic mechanism could operate when reconstructed from the drawings.