What wagon did Leonardo da Vinci design to move without horses or human pushing?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart that could move without horses or a person pushing it.

The cart appears in Leonardo’s engineering studies from the late 15th century. Springs wound inside drums supplied the stored energy, while a system of gears transferred that energy to the wheels. Cams helped control the cart’s motion and could be set so the vehicle followed a planned path rather than simply rolling freely.

The machine is often described as an early ancestor of the automobile, but that comparison needs care. It had no engine in the modern sense, no fuel system, and no steering arrangement designed for ordinary roads. Its movement came from wound springs, making it closer to a large mechanical clockwork device.

A reconstructed cart was displayed at the 2006 Florence exhibition celebrating Leonardo. Researchers have debated details of the original mechanism, but the surviving drawings clearly show a compact vehicle intended to move under its own stored mechanical power.