Spinner (Blade Runner)

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Spinner from Blade Runner 2049 on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles Blade Runner - 47102814774.jpg
Spinner from Blade Runner 2049 on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles

Spinner is the generic term for the fictional flying cars used in the film Blade Runner . A Spinner can be driven as a ground-based vehicle, take off vertically, hover, and cruise using jet propulsion much like the Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft currently in use today. They are used extensively by the police to patrol and survey the population, and it is clear that despite restrictions wealthy people can acquire spinner licenses. The vehicle was conceived and designed by Syd Mead and has been "replicated" in subsequent films such as Back to the Future Part II , The Fifth Element , and the Star Wars prequel trilogy. These films have the popular vision of flying cars, and people use spinners like traditional cars; in Blade Runner, the flying cars substitute for helicopters and very light jets.

Contents

Designer Mead has described the spinner as an aerodyne – a vehicle which directs air downward to create lift, though press kits for the film stated that the spinner was propelled by three engines: "conventional internal combustion, jet and anti-gravity".

A Spinner is currently on permanent exhibit at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, WA. [1]

List of appearances

In-universe

Cameos and out-of-universe appearances

Spinner prop car on display outside Disney-MGM Studios. Spinner3.jpg
Spinner prop car on display outside Disney-MGM Studios.

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References

  1. Infinite Worlds of Science Fiction
  2. 1 2 3 BladeZone Presents: Deconstructing the Spinner
  3. Gardner, Eriq (January 11, 2019). "'Blade Runner 2049' Studio Sues Automaker for Not Living Up to Flying Car Deal" . Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  4. Gifford, Kevin (November 4, 2009). "Kojima Reflects on Snatcher, Adventure Games". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  5. The Blade Runner / Star Wars References