Leonardo da Vinci’s spring-powered vehicle was designed to move itself without a driver.
The machine is commonly called Leonardo’s self-propelled cart. Drawn in the Codex Atlanticus, it used coiled springs to store energy and mechanisms that transferred that energy to the wheels. Steering could be set in advance through the arrangement of its components, allowing the cart to follow a predetermined route.
The vehicle was probably intended for theatrical or ceremonial use rather than transportation. One suggestion is that it could have appeared at court celebrations, where a moving mechanical object would create a dramatic effect. Its compact mechanism is also considered an important example of Leonardo’s work with automata.
The cart is sometimes called the world’s first automobile, but that label can be misleading. It had no engine in the modern sense, carried no passengers in its original concept, and could not travel freely under human control. Its key distinction is autonomous spring-powered movement.