Lexus "Minority Report" MAG-LEV System & Pod --
Model Year: 2054
For Immediate Release
(06/18/2002)
The MAG-LEV System
Transportation in the futuristic "Minority Report" includes a vast
urban magnetic levitation system (MAG-LEV). Horizontal and vertical surfaces
are covered with roadways made of magnetic discs that support and propel vehicles.
This is an accident-free, computer controlled system in which vehicles can move
to speeds of 80-100 mph. In the city's transportation layout, private pods,
taxis and multi-passenger cars all negotiate the MAG-LEV system÷making
seamless transitions between vertical and horizontal surfaces.
The MAG-LEV Pod
Passenger pods are the main form of mass transportation in the future city.
Pods travel singly on predetermined routes or join other pods with similar destinations
and move in linear clusters. Inside, the seats and furnishings bear more relation
to a room environment than a car. Private cars park inside of the owner's home-providing
additional seating room. While parked, the car performs maintenance checks,
repairs, recharges and self cleans.
Specifications
Operation: System powered via magnetic levitation generator
Length: 16 ft.
Width: 5 ft.
Chassis: Carbon Fiber & Titanium composite Monocoque
Mechanics: 360-degree cabin rotation; No brakes or wheels
Features
Color-impregnated, carbon composite body panels with dent-resistant memory
Body conforming bucket seats with automatic heating and cooling functions
MAG-LEV System Operated Cruise Control
Stereolithography formed body panels
Body panels color selectable by owner voice recognition
All systems fully computer-controlled with vice-activated and gesture-recognition
capability
Switchable-tint glass all-around with solar panel glass in roof
Retractable solar body panels for recharging and interior climate control during
parking
Information system display doubles as owner-recognizable personal computer
Heads-Up instrumentation with Holographic Video Interaction: Provides owner
the ability to interact with those not present via holographic projections.
Environment Adapter: Allow passengers to alter the internal cabin display according
to personal preference (ex: ocean or garden view).
DNA Recognition Entry and Ignition System: Via sensory intelligence, the system
allows owner to enter and start vehicle.
Self-Diagnosis System: Car automatically detects and alerts any mechanical
or electrical problems. Voice-activated concierge service will schedule necessary
service appointments. A Lexus representative will travel to ownerâs preferred
location to service the car.
Auto Valet: Once the car drops the owner off, it then parks to recharge (its
retractable solar body panels automatically adjust to accommodate recharging).
Upon remote command, the car will arrive at requested location.
Global Digital Entertainment System (with Universal Translator and Personal
Digital Recorder): Comprehensive music library, archived with a global directory;
updates daily via cyber connection. The PDR automatically records shows via
request (similar to TiVo today). The system alerts to breaking news, weather,
stock, and/or sports reports based on personal profile data.
Voice-Activated Concierge Service (with Internet Search): Reserves restaurant,
hotel and entertainment events via voice command.
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Contact:
Lexus Public Relations
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Lexus Stars as Vehicle of the Future in Spielberg's "Minority Report"
For Immediate Release
(06/18/2002) TORRANCE, CA
Lexus Cast as Vehicle of the Future in Spielberg's "Minority Report"
Backgrounder: The Making of the Vehicles
Lexus "Minority Report" Sports Car Specs
Lexus "Minority Report" MAG-LEV Specs
For Lexus, it's every Hollywood hopeful's dream come true:
a featured role alongside Tom Cruise in a Steven Spielberg summer blockbuster.
The filmmaker cast the luxury auto brand as the car of the future in his critically
acclaimed film, "Minority Report," which opened on June 21 as the
weekend's top box-office draw . The film stars Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha
Morton and Max Von Sydow.
Based on a short story by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, the film is
an action-detective thriller set in Washington, D.C. in 2054, where police utilize
a psychic technology to arrest and convict murderers before they commit their
crime. Cruise plays the head of this precrime unit and is himself accused of
the future murder of a man he hasn't even met.
When it came time to conceptualize automotive travel for the futuristic setting,
Spielberg didn't have to look any further than his own driveway for inspiration.
"I've been driving a Lexus SUV," said Spielberg. "And I thought
Lexus might be interested in holding hands with us and going into a speculative
future to see what the transportation systems and cars would look like on our
highways in fifty years. The result of that exploration is something that elevates
and transforms driving into an environmental experience."
Ultimately, two featured Lexus vehicles were developed for the film÷a
radical red sports car and a private pod that rides on a vast urban magnetic
levitation (MAG-LEV) system.
The sports car was designed for scenes calling for Cruise's character to drive
outside the city limits and was tailor-built to fit the star. The futuristic
high-performance two-seat coupe flexes a muscular design with the ultimate in
cab-forward seating, a low, enclosed wheelbase for sportiness, aggressive lines,
and proportions so unexpected that, at first glance, it's not entirely evident
which end is the front and which is the rear.
The second vehicle÷a private "pod"÷rides on the film's
urban MAG-LEV system and features a full-glass roof and doors that, similar
to sliding glass doors, open from the center to allow the occupant to step out.
The MAG-LEV system itself operates on electrical/magnetic energy¾much
like that which sends a bullet train speeding along¾with buildings and
horizontal surfaces covered with "roadways" made of magnetic discs
that support and propel various vehicles. In this accident-free, computer-controlled
system, pods move at speeds of 80 to 100 miles per hour. In the future city's
transportation layout, private pods, taxis and multi-passenger cars all negotiate
the MAG-LEV system÷making seamless transitions between vertical and horizontal
surfaces.
Conceptual artist Harald Belker÷whose film design credits also include
"Batman & Robin," "Inspector Gadget" and "Armageddon"÷created
the custom Lexus vehicles. Spielberg, Belker, Calty (Toyota/Lexus design studio)
and a team of futurists met early in the development process to speculate on
what the future of automotive travel might hold, with Lexus ultimately providing
styling, luxury and performance cues for the vehicles' designs. The vehicles
were constructed by CTEK, a Santa Ana, Calif.-based technology design and development
firm.
"We're thrilled to be a part of this," said Denny Clements, Lexus
group vice president and general manager. "We had the opportunity to dream
about what cars and transportation might be like in the future, and then see
that dream played out in the vision of one of the greatest filmmakers of all
time·it doesn't get much better than that."
A promotional campaign for Lexus and "Minority Report" was also developed
and includes an online futuristic game that transports visitors to the year
2054 (Lexus.com), national television advertising, screening programs, in-theatre
displays, and dealership extensions. Die-cast models of the Lexus "Minority
Report" sports car will also be available through The Sharper Image.
Lexus has become synonymous with luxury since its introduction in 1989. By
offering some of the finest quality luxury vehicles and providing benchmark
customer service, Lexus has become the top-selling luxury nameplate in the United
States for two years in a row. Lexus and its 197 dealers have repeatedly achieved
the highest honors for both the products they sell and the customer service
they provide as rated by the independent research firm of J.D. Power and Associates.
# # #
Contact:
Lexus Public Relations
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