As the field of science progressed throughout the Renaissance, it took an Italian, the first engineer, the famous Leonardo da Vinci, to think in concrete terms of an idea similar to that of modern era automobile. Then in 1769, Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, a French engineer, invented the steam dray, a low, strong cart used for transporting heavy loads.

The prototype was powered by a steam engine of 62,000 cm³ and was capable of carrying over 4 tons of cargo. The invention of this steam machine was the beginning of the history of motorization. The original Cugnots steam dray is exhibited at the “Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers” in Paris and a copy can be admired at the “Museo dell’automobile Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia” in Turin.