How Leonardo da Vinci Almost Invented the Car
In 2006, a museum discovered a lost sketch by Leonardo da Vinci. A quick look revealed that the great inventor might have done something brilliant.
Written by Clare Behe
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Legendary artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci is known for bringing many beautiful creations to the world that most of us would recognize on sight. From the Mona Lisa to parachutes, our modern world wouldn’t be what it is today without da Vinci’s
contributions
. But what about the ideas he had that weren’t brought to fruition? His sketches have been pored over by scientists for centuries, some assisting in vital creations like the scuba suit, but others remained on paper until much later, like da Vinci’s sketch of a self-propelling vehicle. Could it be considered
the first car
design?This sketch is estimated to have been drawn by Leonardo in 1478 AD. Rather than resembling the “horseless carriage” design in the late 19th century that we associate with early cars, it appeared to be more like a tri-wheeled cart.
Due to a lack of clarity in the notes and
design
(It seems even genius inventors have bad handwriting!), it wasn’t until 2006 that a functional model was built and displayed by the Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy.Function and design of Da Vinci’s Car
Professor Paolo Galluzzi, Director of the museum,
said
, "Everybody thought that Leonardo powered the car with the two big leaf springs shown in his sketch. Instead, the power is provided by coiled springs inside the tambours." Once the team realized how the vehicle was powered they agreed to
build a scaled-down model
, only a third of the size of da Vinci’s prescribed dimensions of 5’6” X 4’11”, out of concern that a larger cart could cause more harm if it didn’t work properly. Aside from an overall sizing difference, the model was proportional to the scale of da Vinci’s design, and many experts and casual viewers alike were struck by the vehicle’s similarity to–not a Model T—but the Mars Land Rover. Forget a car—had da Vinci designed the world’s first robot? After all, an American robotics engineer, Mark Rosheim, had assisted the History of Science Museum in the digital design.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a… prop?
Well, not really.
Nor was it the world’s first car. It became evident through the working model that da Vinci had never intended his design to be for human transportation, and it was not mechanical like a robot. Rather it resembled a child’s wind-up toy, where the pressure
release of a spring
would set the cart moving on its own. With a lack of seating area and a braking system based on a long rope that could be pulled from far away from the cart, it’s believed that da Vinci designed the vehicle for theatrical use. Once the coiled spring function was released, the cart could go in a straight line for about 130 feet. There was also an option to pre-set the car to steer right.
The bottom line is that Leonardo da Vinci indisputably designed one of the first automated mobile devices, but not one of the first automobiles.
But who knows—perhaps one day, as the demand for sustainable transportation grows, we’ll see influences of da Vinci’s designs. True genius has no expiration date.
Inventions have come a long way since Da Vinci’s time
Leonardo da Vinci could do a little bit of everything. Painting, sculpting, mechanics… but even legends have flaws, and Leo’s was that he didn’t create an app that could save you money on your car insurance.
Luckily
Jerry stepped in
, and if you head to your respective App Store now, you’ll see it’s free to download and ranked as the number one insurance app. So what are you waiting for? You could save up to $900 a year! And it only takes 45 seconds to save. 
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