In French photographer Renaud Marion's new project, Air Drive, he has recreated the cars of his boyhood imagination, classic cars from the past that glide on air.
Taking cues from his childhood dreams and inspired by science fiction films and artists, Marion depicts his vision of futuristic transportation of wheel-less cars hovering just above the ground. While the vehicles' levitation looks something out of The Jetsons, the cars are in fact modified vintage classics, including Chevrolets, Mercedes, Jaguars, Aston Martins and Porsches.
Motivated by the idea that "our dreams of today are the reality of tomorrow," Marion set about finding the ideal subjects for his project.
"For the first part of the series photographed in Geneva, I chose the cars simply by walking down the street. I looked for cars parked on the side of the road as I wanted to use real-size models instead of miniatures," he says.
Finding the appropriate environment in which to shoot these vintage classics meant seeking out spaces devoid of people and recognisable buildings. "I looked for architecture dating from the 1970s; for me that's retro-futuristic. The buildings had to be imposing, massive and graphic."
To achieve the look of flying cars, Marion had to apply a digital assembly technique to remove tyres and wheel wells and merge the cars onto different backgrounds, eventually settling on the right scene for each futuristic portrayal.
The images that emerge are a throwback blend of retro style with futuristic imaginings. Iconic cars from the glory days of automobile production are transformed into airborne transport, catapulting their vintage design into a visionary age. Who wouldn't want to drive one of these hovering iconic classics?
"As a child, I imagined the new millennium with flying cars, spaceships, parallel worlds, extra-terrestrials living with us on earth and time travel," says the photographer. "We would have all been dressed up in space outfits and equipped with laser pistols. These are the dreams of a normal child, I think… I hope."
You can read more about Renaud Marion's Air Drive project and see more of his images here: http://www.mbandf.com/mad-gallery/