What wheeled machine did Leonardo da Vinci design that is often called an early automobile?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a self-propelled cart that is often described as an early ancestor of the automobile.

The cart appears in drawings from the late 15th century and was powered by coiled springs rather than an engine. When the springs were wound, they released energy through gears and drove the wheels. Steering could be set in advance, allowing the cart to follow a programmed route instead of being driven by a person sitting inside.

Because the design was not fully documented, historians and engineers have reconstructed it in different ways. In 2006, a working replica was built at the Museo Galileo in Florence based on Leonardo’s surviving drawings. The device could move, but it was not an automobile in the modern sense: it had no internal-combustion engine, brakes, or passenger cabin.

The cart is especially notable for its use of stored mechanical energy and programmable steering. Those features distinguish it from a simple hand-pushed wagon.