Leonardo da Vinci’s covered, weapon-carrying military vehicle is commonly called the armored car.
Leonardo designed it around 1487 for Ludovico Sforza, ruler of Milan. The vehicle had a conical, turtle-like protective shell and was intended to carry guns around its perimeter. Inside, human operators would turn cranks connected to wheels, allowing the machine to move across the battlefield while shielding its crew.
The design is often described as an ancestor of the tank, but “tank” is a modern classification. Leonardo’s vehicle had no engine, and historians have debated whether its gearing contained an intentional error or whether the surviving drawing does not show the complete mechanism. Either way, the design was not known to have been built or used in battle.
Its defensive shell and all-round weapons reveal Leonardo’s interest in combining mobility, protection, and firepower. The vehicle belongs to a larger group of military studies that included giant crossbows, artillery ideas, and fortified structures.