Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder is built on the chassis of an obscure British three-wheeled car

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, vehicle choices were very different than they are today – and we’re not just talking about Landspeeder options on Tatooine. England also had its share of, shall we say, interesting machines in the 1970s with low-slung and streamlined designs. So while Luke Skywalker had his SoroSuub X-34, Tom Karen – and about 2,270 owners – had the Bond Bug. And those two timelines collided in our universe in 1977, when the Bond Bug formed the basis for Luke’s Landspeeder in the first Star Wars film, “A New Hope.”

Yes, that iconic triple-turbine ride, with a top speed of 155 mph and the ability to sprint from 0 to 60 in about 4.1 seconds while flying three feet above the ground, was actually built atop a three-wheeled car designed by Karen and manufactured by the Reliant Motor Company. The result was a vehicle that could ultimately reach 100 km/h – in 23.7 seconds to be precise – with a maximum speed of 120 km/h that was more in line with the performance of heavy equipment such as a Traxler Marauder 906 armored tank than a Landspeeder.

We’ve already seen how mill life influences real life – like when Boeing built a flying Star Wars X-wing – so today let’s go the other way and look at how the Bond Bug went from a British oddity to a high-tech hovercraft. But don’t worry: we don’t have to make the jump into hyperspace to get there.

As mentioned, the Bond Bug was built by Reliant Motors, which started in 1935 under founder TL Williams. Williams’s first vehicle was a three-wheeled van with essentially the front end of a motorcycle, and he remained true to the three-wheeled configuration even when he switched to cars after World War II. The Reliant Regal hit the market in 1952, but things didn’t really take off until it received a major redesign in 1962. Record sales soon followed, as did the even more refined Reliant Robin – from Jeremy Clarkson to fame.

However, between the Regal and Robin was a short-lived project known as the Bond Bug. No, this wasn’t a James Bond edition car that you could actually afford. Instead, it had a radical wedge-shaped exterior from Karen – an industrial design giant, by the way, who was also responsible for the iconic Raleigh Chopper bicycle and a bulletproof Land Rover Popemobile.

Actually, the Bond Bug’s design was originally intended for a Reliant vehicle, but the powers that be felt the look was too far out for one of their products. Because they had recently bought a smaller car company called Bond, the people at Reliant used that brand name to avoid any connection with their main brand. One of the most interesting aspects of the Bond Bug’s exterior was the canopy-style entry and exit, where the top of the vehicle tilts forward for entry and exit, much like the 2006 Saab Aero-X concept.

Much of Karen’s best-known work was done during his 37-year stint as director and chief designer of Ogle Design, and it’s probably no coincidence that another Ogle artist, John Stears, gets the look of the Landspeeder himself. The propeller vehicle was built atop a stripped Bond Bug chassis, and all you could see of the original car were the wheels – which inspired the clever trick to make the Landspeeder look like it was floating. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have true repulsorlift technology.

Remember, CGI was still in its infancy at the time, so Lucasfilms resorted to practical effects for the shots of the Landspeeder in action. Propmasters attached mirrors to the sides of the car and positioned them so that they reflected the ground below while covering the wheels. Carefully chosen camera angles and Vaseline on part of the camera lens (for a blur effect) also played a role.

In the film, after his aunt and uncle are murdered by Imperial forces, Luke and Obi-wan decide to try to escape to Alderaan, and they sell the Landspeeder for a deposit of 2,000 credits for the journey, with an additional 15,000 credits upon arrival. Naturally, the Death Star caused a major disruption in the force – as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in fear and were silenced – and their plans changed. As a result, untold millennia in the future, their Landspeeder now resides in our Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, along with plenty of rare rides that you would have killed to see as a kid.