Daily Slideshow: That Time a Guy Built the Lexus From Minority Report...and No One Bought It
If you're buying a movie car as an investment you'd do better to stick to Batmobiles. If you're building one, as one man did when he recreated the 2054 Lexus from Steven Spielberg's Minority Report, you might have too much free time.
1. 2054 Now
What are the greatest movie cars in history? Easy, right? Everyone has a personal list that jumps immediately to mind. The Lamborghini Miura from The Italian Job, The Daytona from The Gumball Rally, any number of Dodge Chargers or Challengers from screens large and small, or if you're younger perhaps a Toyota Supra. What's the best Lexus? The first one many of us remember getting heavy press was the Volvo-P1800-replacing SC 430 from 1997's The Saint. Next in line could be a Lexus that never was, or it wasn't yet, the 2054 Lexus from Steven Spielberg's Minority Report. We still have a few years, and even a generation or two, before the time frame of Steven Spielberg's Minority Report is upon us, but we've already had the chance to buy not one but two examples of this Lexus from the future.
>>Join the conversation about the Minority Report Lexus right here in Club Lexus.
2. Movie Magic
The closest thing to what audiences saw on the screen in the 2002 Tom Cruise vehicle was offered for sale in 2011, according to the Daily Mail. That U.K. news outlet predicted the car, which was owned by a private collector and reputedly used for exterior shots in the film, would sell for in the neighborhood of $25,000 when it went up for auction at Bonhams in California. They were a bit off. The final sale price, including premium, was $101,790. Unlike the film car, which was filled with futuristic tech (and could be driven vertically as well as horizontally), the Bonhams car looked more like a stripped-down racer inside. Bonhams's Eric Minoff explained the genesis of the movie car: "When Steven Spielberg was making the film he was driving a Lexus and asked them to produce a futuristic design." About the power plant of the Lexus Minhoff said: "there is only a little engine so it can be moved around." He added, "But it is a great-looking thing and there will be fans of the film who would like it. It does make quite a statement." Right he was.
>>Join the conversation about the Minority Report Lexus right here in Club Lexus.
3. Fan Fiction
Apparently the film had more fans (short for fanatics, don't forget) and with the original spoken for, and not exactly built for daily driving in the first place, fan Mike Vetter set to building himself his own version of the futuristic Lexus. Vetter named his creation the 2016 Vetter Custom Dimensia Coupe, and it's a different animal than the film car. For starters, it has a full interior, though seated low in its mostly-gray confines the view outward leaves something to be desired. The main problem being giant A-pillars, it's like someone put a 1960's-era ponycar fastback roof on backwards. The tinted windows, which are smaller than the ones on the film car, can't help either.
>>Join the conversation about the Minority Report Lexus right here in Club Lexus.
4. Some Sort of Porsche
Builder Mike Vetter says that the Dimensia Coupe is powered by a 2.7-liter Porsche V6 (did he mean flat-six?), is rear wheel drive, and features an automatic transmission. From the photos it appears as though the engine is mounted amidships. Also clear from the photos is that you'll have the help of huge, monogrammed, brakes for those numerous panic stops you'll likely be executing.
>>Join the conversation about the Minority Report Lexus right here in Club Lexus.
5. Hammer Time
What would you pay for a rolling piece of (sort of) movie history? In Vetter's 2016 eBay auction (as user ferrarimv) of the Dimensia Coupe he was hoping someone would be willing to pay at least $95,000. No one was. The auction informed us that the car was painted "Ferrari Red," and that the "Vehicle has an existing warranty." Maybe there weren't enough fans of the film bidding on the Vetter, maybe it was the A-pillars, or maybe 95k was a little steep. Or perhaps someone really had their heart set on Colin Farrell's character from Minority Report's silver roadster version of the 2054 Lexus instead.
>>Join the conversation about the Minority Report Lexus right here in Club Lexus.
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