Which Leonardo da Vinci invention used a large drum to move a cart without horses?

Leonardo da Vinci’s self-propelled cart used a large drum and stored spring power to move without horses.

Leonardo designed the cart in the late fifteenth century, probably for theatrical or ceremonial use. Its two large driving wheels were connected to coiled springs, and the springs could be wound before the cart began moving. Small wheels helped support and steer the vehicle.

The mechanism is often compared with a modern automobile because it carried its own motive power. That comparison needs care: the cart had no internal-combustion engine, fuel tank, or continuous engine output. It released energy stored mechanically in the wound springs, giving it only a limited travel distance.

The design also included programmable steering elements. Pins placed on a control wheel could determine the cart’s turning pattern, making it useful for stage effects. A full-scale replica built in the twentieth century demonstrated that the mechanism could operate when reconstructed from Leonardo’s drawings.