Hollywood wheels out what we will drive in 2054

It's every Hollywood hopeful's dream: a featured role alongside Tom Cruise in Steven Spielberg's next blockbuster.

And for luxury carmaker Lexus, it came true. Spielberg has cast a prototype Lexus as the car of the future in the film Minority Report, due to be released by 20th Century Fox in America in June.

The film stars Tom Cruise, Samantha Morton and Colin Farrell. Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, Minority Report is set in 2054 in a society where killers are arrested and convicted before they commit murder.

Moviegoers and car buffs got an advance preview of the sports car in Los Angeles.

When it came time to conceptualise the fantasy car of the future, Spielberg didn't have to look any further than his own driveway for inspiration.

"I've been driving a Lexus sports utility (LX470)," said Spielberg, "and I thought Lexus might be interested in holding hands with us and going into a speculative future to see what the transportation systems and cars would look like on our highways in 50 years.

"The result of that exploration is something that elevates and transforms driving into an environmental experience."

Designed as a high-performance two-seat personal sports car for the year 2054, the futuristic Lexus flexes a muscular design with the ultimate in cab-forward seating, a low, enclosed wheelbase for sportiness, aggressive lines, and proportions so unexpected that, at first glance, it's not entirely evident which end is the front and which is the rear.

The custom car was created by conceptual artist Harald Belker, whose film design credits include Batman & Robin, Inspector Gadget, and Armageddon.

Spielberg, Belker, the Lexus design studio CALTY and a team of futurists met early in the development process to speculate on what the future of automotive travel might hold, with Lexus ultimately providing styling, luxury and performance cues for the car's design.

The car was constructed by CTEK, California-based technology design and development firm. Said Denny Clements, Lexus' North America group vice president and general manager: "We had the opportunity to dream about what cars and transportation might be like in the future, and then see that dream played out in the vision of one of the greatest filmmakers of all time - it doesn't get much better than that."

It's not the first time that concept cars have made it to the big screen. In 1993, General Motors donated the concept cars used in the Sylvester Stallone movie Demolition Man.

The Lexus film project comes as rumours spread about a radical new sports car from Lexus' parent Toyota. Speculation centred around the V8-powered FXS that appeared at last year's Tokyo motor show.

But it has been dismissed as a decoy. Instead, the focus now is on a coupe called the 5000GT and powered by a 5-litre V12.

One report said the 5000GT will appear "when Toyota starts winning Formula One races." The V12-powered supercar is believed to be based on the 4500GT shown at the Tokyo show two years ago.

The rumours are being fed by Toyota giving its own tuning division, TOMS, greater exposure by unveiling heavily modified V8 vehicles for influential markets.