spinner

Spinner is the generic term for a flying car in the film "Blade Runner" (1982), that can drive as a ground car, take-off vertically, hover and cruise using jet propulsion much like Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft today. They are used extensively by the police to survey the population, and it's clear that despite restrictions wealthy people can acquire spinner licenses. It was designed by Syd Mead and has been "replicated" in films such as "The Fifth Element" (1997) 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. 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".