Leonardo da Vinci designed a scythed chariot with blades projecting from its wheels.
A scythed chariot is a wheeled vehicle fitted with blades intended to injure people or horses as it moved through an opposing formation. Leonardo’s version appears in his military-engineering studies and uses rotating blades extending outward from the vehicle’s sides. The design shows his interest in turning motion and wheel rotation into battlefield force.
The idea itself was not Leonardo’s invention. Scythed chariots were associated with ancient armies, especially the Persians, and classical writers described their use in warfare. Leonardo adapted the ancient concept to Renaissance technology rather than creating the weapon type from nothing.
There is no strong evidence that Leonardo’s design was built or used in combat. Like many of his military sketches, it is valuable as a record of engineering imagination and as an example of how he revisited historical weapons with new mechanisms.