In the future of eleven years ago as imagined 37 years ago by the makers of the Back To The Future trilogy, cars can fly. As Doc Brown ominously said at the end of Part I, before embarking to 2015, “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” So shocking was this that upon Marty’s arrival in the future, he didn’t even notice that his girlfriend was no longer Claudia Wells but was instead Elizabeth Shue.
The DeLorean time machine transitions to flight with exceptional elegance, it’s turbine wheels pivoting until parallel with the ground (90 degrees of camber, if you want to get technical) and becoming actual turbines to elevate the machine.
… Or maybe they were gravity-reflectors or something; the tech is never specified, though the film is quite specific about one where one goes to get a formerly land-bound car hover-converted, and what it costs. Just swing by Goldie Wilson III’s Hover Conversions, and he’ll fix you up for $39,999.99. Which seems not bad, really.
As seen in the topshot and below, baddie Griff has had his 1976 BMW 633CSi hover-converted, and the required gizmos are not incorporated into the bodywork at all, unlike the DeLorean. This must be one of the economy $39,999.99 jobs.
There’s also a brief appearance by a hover-Stang. It too is crudely converted integeration-wise, but painting the bits body color helps.
Later in the film, Old Biff takes a ride in a hover cab that is unmistakably a Citroen DS:
Though only on screen for a few seconds, considerable care was taken to determine how it would convert to flight mode while maintaining some of the DS’ suspension flavor. Here’s a full 20 minutes devoted to it, which is where the screen grabs below came from:
Another quickie: the flying Jeep YJ – does David Tracy know about this? – that descends just in time for Marty to escape Griff and his hoverboarding gang. The YJ appears to have no wheel-pivoting system and flies on thrust alone. Or maybe we’re to assume the wheels transitioned from flight mode to road mode before the shot, and we’re just seeing landing thrusters? The important thing is: flying Jeep!
Lots of fun for an Autopian Asks, don’t you think? You’re a Hill Valley resident of 2015 with at least $39,999.99 to spend giving an earthbound car the gift of flight. What cars would you bring to Goldie Wilson III?
Photos and screen grabs: Universal Studios
Absolutely the AMC Pacer. A flying saucer at last….
Ford Anglia
Surprised nobody has mentioned:
1937 Morgan Super Sports 3 wheeler.
Slap some wings on and I’m sure they could have taught Jerry a thing or two in the war, what what?
A hovering Ford Falcon being chased by a flying Toyota Tercel (Tercel being a small Male Falcon) would be a great nod to the Twitchers out there!
BTW Did I mention I saw a Lyrebird a Bowerbird and a Yellow Robin while cycling in Gippsland Australia last week?
None. If cars were meant to fly they would be planes.
More like if drivers were meant to fly they’d be pilots. I believe that if antigravity ever became a thing, only specially trained and certificated operators would be allowed to pilot vehicles that flew more than a meter* off the ground; and if you got caught in one that flew at current aircraft height without certification, you’d be in BIG trouble.
*Hoping the entire world has gone metric by then as well.
By that point we would probably have a new competing measurement standard that uses Kelvin for temperature, mass based off of 6,200,000,000,000,000,000,000 carbon atoms and somehow mi/h as the standard for velocity.
And Jiffy or maybe Plancks as standard unit of time!
Right you are!
Chevy Caprice wagon. With woodgrain decals. Flying bricks can be fun!
Lotus Esprit looks great as a sub, so should look great as a flying-car as well!
Too many good ones in the comments already, but in that Jeep gif, is that a JohnnyCab from Total Recall parked in front of the Beetle?
A lot of Sci-Fi and actual manufacturer concept cars were used in BTTF II as extras. So it might be.
Nope, that’s the Star Car from The Last Starfighter
… which also flies! (In The Last Starfighter, I mean).
Mercedes CLR would be fun to see if fly with the greasy side down.
I’m gonna go with an 198X DeTomaso Pantera GT5 but any Pantera would be sweet with the Back to the Future treatment
Cadillac CTS, XLR would be amusing they alluded to flight often. Saab 900, 9-3, 9-5, 9-6 for obvious flight reasons. Kia soul for sure those hamsters would fit right in with the characters. First gen genisis coup because it secretly flew. First gen Scion xb because it would be a flying toaster.
DT’s Nissan Leaf? Taking range anxiety to new heights.
Deploy parachute!
You can tell it’s The Future, because all the cars have silver disc wheel covers. Even the Beetle.
Italdesign Aztec.
Lamborghini Countach, with the wing of course.
1959 Cadillac Series 62. Come on, look at those fins!
Unfortunately, 2015 would be several years too early for a Lucid Air 🙂
The Chrysler Turbine already looks like a flying car
AMC Pacer, no contest.
With the flames from Wayne’s World on it
I’d vote for any Houston-area SLAB on Swangas. Seeing something on wire wheels with knock-offs protruding 12″+ and then having it all rotate 90-degrees downward to hover would be awesome.
I think most cars would struggle with having “90 degrees of camber”. Think about the wheel rash!
I was going to comment my Jeep TJ, and I know to can be done because of the YJ in the movie, but then Peter had to go and include that at the end of the article. But seriously, my TJ, as it would make recovery much easier when I get stuck in the rocks. I mean, I enjoy putting my winch into action, but just floating off would be better.
Why the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante of course!
You can close the thread now.
Fiero. Aero Fiero! 😉
Jaguar XJ220!