Steven Spielberg is filming his new film Ready Player One in Birmingham (england, not Alabama). It's a dystopian sci-fi thrillerset in the year 2044, so there are some futuristic but knackered-looking cars on the set.

I can spot a Renault Avantime (shades of Children of Men), a Citroen C6 and a Mitsubishi i/i-MEV/ Peugeot iOn/Citroen C-Zero. It's odd to see them with Ohio plates.

Can anyone identify the modified vans?

POstal step vans look like Utilimaster Aeromasters.

Thanks.

I believe the i is an i-MiEV (two-tone doors, even if they're mismatched). There's also an [E51] Nissan Elgrand in better shape, and I wonder what the mystery flatbed truck is. The futuristic cab reminds me of something, but I can't place it.

these uncommon cars make it look like old futuristic cars for US audience I suppose, but it would be much more realistic with newer common cars artificially made older, like the New Beetle in The 6th Day: http://imcdb.org/vehicle_31424-Volkswagen-New-Beetle-Typ-1C-1999.html
New car at the time, looking like an old one since the movie was set in a near future.
To avoid having cars looking too common, they could take current French models
In 2044 you'll probably find more easily an old Renault Kadjar than an even older Avantime (a rare car even in its time)

They could also use old French cars with some strange stuff added on it to make them even more unrecognisable. Oops, already done

Ouch.... poor Citroen...

The original novel is full of references to films directed or produced by Spielberg, including the Back to the Future series, but most of them will be removed. There will be a De Lorean, though.

Some new photos from MailOnline (sorry), showing smahsed-up and burnt-out cars brought in for filming to take place next week. Most of them look American but there's a burnt-out Mercedes (?) with miraculously intact wheel trims.

The burgundy car : a 1986-91 Buick Skylark.

Some more car photos are surfacing:

Nissan Leaf police car


Two electric vans (I recognise them but I've forgotten the make)

Mitsubishi i-MEV and Nissan Cube

And specially for rjluna2, a pedestrian crossing with an unconvincing American makeover (with a temporary traffic light in front of it)

The electric vans are from Modec like the one in "Breaking and Entering":
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_104272-Modec-Box-Van.html

Thanks.

I see that Modec went bankrupt in 2011, but Navistar bought the rights to the van and still makes it in the US.

P.S. More Leafs, more i-MEVs and the Cube again.

Anyone know what this little critter is?

REnault Twizy.

Merci.

here are some photos from filming today:

Cube and Twizzy

It's grim up Brum

Spielberg with one of those vans

The second pic from this link is interesting when enlarged.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CriDqvyWEAAOJQh.jpg:large

There's a silver LHD sedan I didn't see before, and the white i-MiEV still has its british plate SB62 MPF, which identifies as a 2012 Citroën C-Zero instead of a Mitsubishi.

Some more interesting cars here:

1. A Ford Taurus station wagon, which is probably a real scrapyard find because it's missing a few windows and the driver's door has been left unlocked.

2. A black armoured SUV with a "made for movie" front.

3. Some familiar faces (Twizzy, Cube, Leafs, Elgrand), and motorbikes that might be part of the set.

4. The Taurus being carried on a forklift. Obviously a non-runner.

Video of a a black SUV chasing a postal van.

Video with two of the SUVs and a Nissan Navara camera car.

Detailed views of the Leaf police car and one of the black SUVs.

Lancia Thesis? (fourth photo)

It is indeed a Thesis. The sticker at the bottom of the windscreen looks like one of those german green "Umweltzone" things required to drive into city centres.

However, the Taurus is a Mercury Sable LS, as written oon the hatch.

One more twitter pic, slightly older : https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cq3h37_XYAAUzAd.jpg

I shows a car-transporter hauling a bunch of prop cars : the four i-MiEVs, the two Cubes, the Avantime and the Thesis, plus another C6, this time a black one in good shape.