A spinner was a vehicle used on Coruscant. The vehicle could drive as a ground car, take off vertically, hover and cruise using jet propulsion.
A group of police spinners as seen in Blade Runner.
The word "spinner" is actually the generic term for a flying car in the 1982 film Blade Runner. The canonicity of this "Easter egg" in the Star Wars universe is uncertain, as well as its name. John Knoll points out on the DVD commentary for The Phantom Menace that the animation team added a spinner to the film as an homage to Blade Runner.
In Blade Runner, the jet propulsion of the vehicles is much like Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft today. They are used extensively by the police to survey the population, and it's clear that despite restrictions, wealthy people can acquire spinner licenses. The spinner was designed by Syd Mead.
- The Return of Tag & Bink: Special Edition
- Star Wars Insider 48
- † The Phantom Menace DVD commentary