What was Leonardo da Vinci’s wheeled vehicle designed to do without a horse?

Leonardo da Vinci’s wheeled vehicle was designed to move under its own power without a horse.

Drawn around 1478–1480, the self-propelled cart used coiled springs to store energy. The springs were placed inside the vehicle and connected to the wheels through a system of gears. When released, the stored energy could turn the wheels and propel the cart forward.

The design is often described as an early automobile, although it had no engine in the modern internal-combustion or electric sense. Its practical travel distance would have been limited by the amount of energy that could be stored in the springs.

Leonardo’s drawing also includes a steering mechanism, making the machine more than a simple toy wagon. A reconstruction was built in 2006 and showed that the basic mechanism could work, though historians still debate the cart’s exact intended use, which may have involved theatrical performances.