Spinner is the generic term for the fictional

flying car A flying car or roadable aircraft is a type of vehicle which can function both as a road vehicle and as an aircraft. As used here, this includes vehicles which drive as motorcycles when on the road. The term "flying car" is also sometimes u ...

s used in the film ''

Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott, and written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Dick ...

''. A Spinner can be driven as a ground-based vehicle, take off vertically, hover, and cruise using

jet propulsion Jet propulsion is the propulsion of an object in one direction, produced by ejecting a jet of fluid in the opposite direction. By Newton's third law, the moving body is propelled in the opposite direction to the jet. Reaction engines operating on ...

much like the Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft currently in use today. They are used extensively by the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest a ...

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 ''

The Fifth Element ''The Fifth Element'' is a 1997 English-language French science fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, as well as co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Chris Tucker, and Milla Jov ...

'' and the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has been expanded into various film ...

'' prequel trilogy. These films have the popular vision of flying cars, and people use spinners like traditional

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

s; in ''Blade Runner'', the flying cars substitute for

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribut ...

s and

very light jet A very light jet (VLJ), entry-level jet or personal jet, previously known as a microjet, is a category of small business jets seating four to eight people. VLJs are considered the lightest business jets and are approved for single-pilot operati ...

s. Designer Mead has described the spinner as an aerodyne – a vehicle which directs air downward to create

lift Lift or LIFT may refer to: Physical devices * Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods ** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop ** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...

, though press kits for the film stated that the spinner was propelled by three engines: "conventional

internal combustion An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

, jet and

anti-gravity Anti-gravity (also known as non-gravitational field) is a hypothetical phenomenon of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to ...

". A Spinner is currently on permanent exhibit at the

Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MoPOP has organized ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, WA.

List of appearances

In-universe

* ''

'' (1982) - Spinners are seen prominently in ''Blade Runner''. Deckard and Gaff are seen riding in police spinners, and other various spinners driven by the "general" public,

Very Important Person A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples in ...

public are seen flying through the city. * ''

Trancers ''Trancers'' (also released as ''Future Cop'') is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by Charles Band and starring Tim Thomerson, Helen Hunt, and Art LaFleur. It is the first film in the ''Trancers'' series. Thomerson plays Jac ...

'' (1985) - The sedan used by Deckard can be seen in a repair shop.BladeZone Presents: Deconstructing the Spinner
/ref> * '' Solar Crisis'' (1990) - A repainted police spinner is used. * ''

Soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

'' (1998) - A spinner can be seen in a pile of wrecked vehicles in one scene. * ''

Blade Runner 2049 ''Blade Runner 2049'' is a 2017 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. A sequel to the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'', the film stars Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, wi ...

'' (2017) - Officer K and other members of the LAPD are seen riding in police spinners, and other various spinners driven by the "general" public, VIP public are seen flying through the city. Certain spinners are also being used by the members of the Wallace Corporation. The spinner flown by Officer K was branded as a

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

as a part of a marketing deal that later resulted in a lawsuit between Peugeot and

Alcon Entertainment Alcon Entertainment, LLC is an American film production company, founded in 1997 by film producers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Since its establishment, Alcon Entertainment has developed and financed films that are ultimately distribu ...

Cameos and out-of-universe appearances

* The film ''

Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale and a story by both. It is the sequel to the 1985 film '' Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the ...

'' paid homage to the Spinner from ''Blade Runner'' in that a garishly repainted spinner can be seen parked on a street. * Another tribute to the ''Blade Runner'' spinner can be seen at various points in the ''Star Wars'' films: they are seen in ''

The Phantom Menace ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' and ''

Attack of the Clones Attack may refer to: Warfare and combat * Offensive (military) * Charge (warfare) * Attack (fencing) * Strike (attack) * Attack (computing) * Attack aircraft Books and publishing * ''The Attack'' (novel), a book * ''Attack No. 1'', comic a ...

''. The homage was made in part because of the similarities between 2019 Los Angeles, as seen in ''Blade Runner'', and the landscape of the planet

Coruscant Coruscant () is an ecumenopolis planet in the fictional ''Star Wars'' universe. Its first appearance was onscreen in the 1997 Special Edition of ''Return of the Jedi'', but was first depicted and mentioned by name in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel ...

, as seen in the ''Star Wars'' films.The Blade Runner / Star Wars References
/ref> * The video game '' Snatcher'' (itself influenced by Blade Runner) has "turbocycles" that are extremely similar to Spinners. * The

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initia ...

published video game '' Stuntman: Ignition'' developed by

Paradigm Entertainment Paradigm Entertainment Inc. (previously part of Paradigm Simulation) was an American video game development company. Paradigm is perhaps best known for its vehicle simulation games. Founded as a 3D computer graphics company in 1990, Paradigm prim ...

has an unlockable vehicle heavily influenced by the Spinner's design. * The 2002 videogame ''

TimeSplitters 2 ''TimeSplitters 2'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Free Radical Design and published by Eidos Interactive for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube game consoles. It is the second game in the ''TimeSplitters'' series, and a sequel ...

'' by Free Radical Design includes a level set in 2019 that pays homage to ''Blade Runner'' and features a flying patrol car that resembles a Spinner. * A spinner and the sedan used by Deckard appear in the videoclip made for the

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million r ...

song Magnetic (1983). * The manga and anime series '' Silent Mobius'' features aerial vehicles clearly based on the spinner. *The music video for the

Run The Jewels Run the Jewels, also known by the initials RTJ, is an American hip hop super-duo composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike. They released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut studio album ...

song ''yankee and the brave (ep. 4)'' features police cars modeled after the Spinner.

References

External links

Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame
Blade Runner Flying Spinner Car on permanent exhibit.
BladeZone interview
with Gene Winfield, builder of the full-sized spinners

– Spinner collectibles
TheForce.net
– 3D Spinner model
MattWalsh.com
– Spinner blueprint
RoadableTimes.com
– History of flying cars
PropSummit
— An online community featuring discussion of the props from

{{Blade Runner

Spinner Technology * Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller *Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells *Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in a GUI *Spinner (MIT Media ...

Blade Runner (franchise) Fictional cars Fictional elements introduced in 1982 Flying cars in fiction Art vehicles Drones in fiction One-off cars