DESIGNER: TIM FLATTERY
BUILDER: GENE WINFIELD
BASED ON: N/A
In Back to the Future II, director Robert Zemeckis introduced many futuristic technologies, including the long-awaited flying car. Like most production vehicles predicted for the year 2015, this police cruiser was manufactured with fusion booster thrusters, which allow it to take flight. The police cruiser, an original design not based on an existing car, was the only full-size vehicle produced specifically for the sequel. Lacking an engine, the car was lifted by forklift to simulate takeoff and landing. This example, a prototype built by Gene Winfield, is nearly identical to the version he produced for screen use.
Tim Flattery’s design, built by Gene Winfield, was the only full-size vehicle of its kind produced for the movie, and its fiberglass body was a completely original design, not based on an existing car. The car’s futuristic design included a high-speed, flight-ready quartz windshield, and a pair of lightweight seats originally designed for the DeLorean. The car was kept lightweight to enable it to be towed or moved by forklift to simulate flight. According to toys released at the time, the car was capable of going 307 mph on the ground with an airspeed nearly twice that. In the movie, the police cruiser was most notably used by Hill Valley Police officers Reese and Foley, who use it to transport the young Jennifer Parker to her future home in Hilldale.