Referred to colloquially as a "shuttle" or "aircar", the skycar is a contragravity transport vehicle designed for moving individuals and/or cargo in civilian settings.
Overview
Shuttles are compartmentalized into a pilot/passenger compartment and a propulsive drive compartment. In the pilot/passenger compartment, there are four seats with one of them reserved for the pilot. From either the forward left or right seat, a pilot controls the shuttle's movements through the use of a haptic adaptive interface. The canopy of the shuttle is divided into two sections - a central section which lifts up, and a clamshell door. The windows of the vehicle can be darkened for the privacy of the passengers. Due to the limited storage space, passengers are limited to what they can carry or store on their bodies. Rear of this compartment, there is the propulsive drive powered by a mass effect field. According to a used ship salesman on the Zakera Ward, all turian shuttles can fit a light mass-accelerator cannon.
A shuttle can travel over 7 kilometers every 10 minutes. The relative slowness and short length of these vehicles permits a pilot to navigate or park in a confined space. Skycars have shown the capacity to move forward, ascend or descend, or make turns. These shuttles require a small landing zone.
Skycars are not strictly limited to personal transport models. There are flatbed truck versions which see use not only in cosmopolitan/industrial areas but also in colonies like Horizon, built for moving cargo (or personnel, if need be). However, these have no protective walls, and if not properly secured their cargo may slide off from reckless driving or an ill-timed biotic attack.
Despite the prevalence of skycars used for public transport, markets still exist for private ownership of the vehicles.
Usage
Commander Shepard is an experienced skycar pilot, and uses the vehicles as needed to transport to places involved in their missions.
On the Citadel, skycars are used for transporting passengers to stations in the Presidium and Wards. These shuttles are publicly owned, and there are biotic amps and weapon restrictions placed onto passengers for the safety of themselves and others. For example, a turian was not allowed to board a shuttle as he had in his possession a 15-centimeter serrated knife. The restrictions seem to affect civilians only. Shepard's fully armed team have no problem nor interference from C-Sec if they use the public shuttles.
Citadel shuttles are scheduled for departure from a transit depot every 10 minutes. Rights-of-way and flight routes for inbound and outbound travel have been established for the safe passage of shuttles.
On Omega, gangs like the Blue Suns use skycars to chauffeur freelancers into Archangel's hideout. Archangel himself has a collection of the vehicles in his garage.
On Illium, the bulk of traffic in cities like Nos Astra consists of skycars; hundreds if not thousands of the vehicles can be seen moving in orderly lanes throughout Nos Astra. Shepard and Liara T'Soni have the opportunity to participate in a high-speed chase throughout Nos Astra's skylanes, potentially upsetting the local traffic. Later, flatbed versions of the vehicle disgorge Shadow Broker troops in a bid to hamper the duo from reaching their quarry Tela Vasir. Illium also runs a public shuttle system for local destinations.
Models
There are a few known models of skycars:
- C-111 Skyline Shuttle - seen parked at the balcony of the monastery on Lesuss.
- Cision Dauntless - a skycar of this model sells for 248,995 credits at the Cision Motors used car lot on the Lower Wards of the Citadel.
- Cision Gallant - a skycar of this model is for sale at the Cision Motors used car lot on the Lower Wards of the Citadel.
- Cision Stalwart - a skycar of this handcrafted upscale model is for sale at the Cision Motors used car lot on the Lower Wards of the Citadel.
- Elkoss Sapphire family skycar - Samara owned one but relinquished it upon joining the Justicar order.
- Esquiran sporting shuttle - a turian design with unmatched acceleration and peerless maneuvering.
- Mark II 2187 Blackout - capable of 650 clicks, barely considered road-legal. A brand-new vehicle costs 749,999 credits.
- Nezo contragravity speeder - the wreckage of one is found on Agebinium.
- Tess Auburn 2166 aircar - Amul Shastri was gifted one.
Trivia
- According to The Art of Mass Effect, on page 73, and the bonus content disc, BioWare originally envisioned the contragravity speeder model as a possible candidate for the M35 Mako.
- According to lead audio designer Rob Blake, the skycar's high-pitched engine sounds in Mass Effect 2 were obtained by recording the noise of cars driving over a metal bridge located in downtown Edmonton.[1]
- From Mass Effect 2 onward, skycars sport a stouter build compared to the first game's vehicles. The shuttles are never actually ridden in the first game, and in subsequent games characters are depicted spending time inside and getting in/out of the vehicles, which may have warranted the necessary adjustments.