What wheeled machine did Leonardo da Vinci design that is often called the first self-propelled cart?

Leonardo da Vinci designed a spring-powered self-propelled cart around 1478–1480.

The machine used coiled springs to store energy, with gears transferring that energy to its wheels. A steering mechanism allowed the cart to follow a programmed route, making it more than a simple handcart. The design may have been intended for theatrical effects or court festivals rather than transportation.

Leonardo’s original cart was not known to have survived, and the drawing does not provide a complete modern construction manual. In 2006, researchers and engineers built a working reconstruction in Florence based on the surviving sketches. The model demonstrated that the mechanism could move under spring power.

The cart is often called the first robot or the first automobile, but both descriptions require caution. It had no engine and could not carry out general-purpose work. It is best understood as an early programmable mechanical vehicle and an impressive example of Leonardo’s study of gears, springs, steering, and motion.