Classic Cars of ‘GATTACA’ (1997)

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The 1997 movie ‘Gattaca‘ is a dystopian futuristic drama that looks eerily similar to our own world. It deals with prejudice and the class system resulting from genetic engineering. In this fictional future, humans created the old-fashioned way still suffer imperfections like myopia and learning disabilities. But technology has advanced to the point that couples can genetically modify their progeny to have ideal physical characteristics and superior intellect.

The main character is Vincent (Ethan Hawke) an unfortunate child who’s parents were told when he was born that he’d only live to 30 before dying of a weak heart. Vincent is determined to defy this system obsessed with genetic perfection, and buys the identity of a genetically ‘elite’ man to help him break through societal barriers preventing him from his dream of becoming a spaceship navigator at Gattaca.

Despite the science of the day pre-determining Vincent’s fate, his sheer force of will propels him to a different destiny. His tenacity helps him climb the ladder of success, and one wonders whether the society’s negative view of him as a genetically inferior human was the only thing holding him down.

To help establish the near-future world that mirrors our own, filming was done at locations like the Marin County Civic Center with its mid-century modernist architecture. Navigators working at Gattaca wear the today’s modern business suit, double-breasted in navy blue, creating a sense of calm uniformity that would make Big Brother smile.

One specific area of interest is how cars are depicted in this fictional future. The filmmaker resisted the temptation to make flying cars like the Spinner from ‘Blade Runner‘ knowing that it would appear too advanced and futuristic or dated like a jet-powered, space-age concept cars of the 1950s. Instead, old cars that broke from established design languages and predominant styles were selected. Years ago these cars represented a vision of the future.

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1965 Citroen DS 19 Cabriolet

Vincent’s love interest, Irene Cassini (like the space probe) is played by Uma Thurman. Her car is an elegant Citroen DS convertible. Even by modern standards the vehicle is futuristic-looking, so one can only image the public’s reaction in the mid-60s. The car features an advanced aerodynamic shape, without a traditional upright radiator grill. The Citroen was the first production car to use hydropneumatic suspension.

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1963 Studebaker Avanti

Throughout the film, a green-eyed Studebaker Avanti is seen. The Avanti was the last-ditch effort by Studebaker to save the company back in 1963 and the car outlived the company, remaining in production (independently) until 2006. It featured a wedge-shape that became popular in the 1970s, and a unique sloping nose hiding a grille under the front bumper. It broke to mould of vehicles in the era.

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1970 Rover 3500 S Mk1

The police detective in Gattaca drives a boxy Rover 3500. This British car was a break from the older Rover series and was inspired by the Citroen DS. The Rover 3500 featured an inner-skeleton unibody which would become popular in the 1980s. The vehicle was originally intended to be powered by a gas-turbine engine, like a helicopter, before being fitted with an aluminum allow V8.

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1971 Buick Riviera

Early in the movie, protagonist comments that he was conceived in the Riviera; the Detroit kind. The camera floats above a Buick Riviera boat-tai,l with Vincent’s parents kissing in the back seat. The opposite of the groundbreaking vehicles in the rest of the movie, the Riviera is a dinosaur. A big American ‘personal luxury car’ with a massive 455 cubic inch (7.5 L) V8 engine, this car represents the old ways. The only ‘new’ aspect to the ’71 Riv was its styling, which was meant to emulate boat-tail roadsters of the 1930s. In other words, the car was derivative, not original.

For film buffs who don’t happen to be gearheads or sci-fi fans, Gattaca is still a great watch. The director is clearly a student of cinema, and borrows from film noir, with double-identities, paranoia, lies, love, and even a brutal murder thrown in to rattle the audience.

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