Blade Runner and the Flying Cars: Did They Do Something Right?

Release date June 25, 1982 Director Ridley Scott Length 1 hour 57mWhere to watchAmazon Prime

The Blade Runner was released in 1982 and landed with a thud. It didn't go anywhere at the box office, and only later gained momentum and followed a cult following when it was released on VHS. Set in bleak, dirty, crowded 2019 Los Angeles (just last year!) Blade Runner showed us a future of environmental devastation and the slow, inexorable destruction of humanity, one person at a time, in pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Like all great works of art, this raises some important questions about what makes us human; how a person maintains his humanity; why we live and what is the meaning of this life; and is it possible to fall in love with a robot with whom you had sex?

Flying Cars & Blade Runner

Of Blade Runner's many predictions - genetic engineering, super-scale architecture, and holographic manipulation, to name just three - one of the ones we're talking about here on Automoblog is, of course, flying cars. And, as with most flying car cases, I rate F for accuracy in terms of technology prediction. But . The world of Blade Runner has some interesting caveats to how they deal with flying cars, making the whole idea potentially much more workable..

• Related: Petersen Automobile Museum's Hollywood car exhibit.

To start with, the flying machines called "spinners" were designed by the great Syd Mead, visual futurist, industrial designer, automotive designer, and everyone of interest. He called his flying machine an "aerodyne" that worked through an invisible propulsion system. Everything contained inside the spinner beetle had enough power to lift and motivate it. As never stated, but that was the basic idea. Director Ridley Scott was smart enough to hire the right guy to work on the flying car concept.

Decommissioned spinner Rick Deckard from Blade Runner. The car is based on the 1972 VW Super Beetle. Photo: Kan Media.

Who will be able to use flying cars?

Another thing is that Blade Runner of the blades correctly understood who used them. As far as I can tell (and I've seen this movie dozens and dozens of times), there are only two kinds of flying cars in the movie. There are choppers that fly on police cars, and there was another model that looked like a private car. The implication is that only the cops or the wealthy elite get the flying cars.

This greatly simplifies potential problems such as crowded skies, accreditation of who is flying, and the like. If only two types of people fly around our polluted and congested cities — the law enforcement and the wealthy — that means a higher level of responsible use. In theory.

It is also worth noting the level of computer control and monitoring that is observed when using a turntable in the air. This will go a long way in mitigating a lot of problems.

Inside the Deckard spinner from Blade Runner. Photo: Kan Media.

Are the flying cars in Blade Runner believable?

Even though I've given Blade Runner's flying spinners an F class in terms of plausible technology, it's with these caveats. If there is a way to make flying machines work, we can't just give them away at the behest of any breath that pleases. We abandoned the entire program within a few months due to fatal, smoking accidents and inevitable lawsuits.

• Related: How close are we to flying cars and do we need them??

In other words, I don't see flying cars coming true. The police don't need them, they already have helicopters, and the same goes for dirty, wealthy private jets. Sure, there are semi-mad innovators and ambitious companies that are still trying to make flying cars happen, but the landscape looks as bleak as the desert dust engulfing Las Vegas in the fairly well-done sequel, Blade Runner 2049 (Harrison Ford reprises his role).