Vehicles

X-34 Landspeeder

A small repulsorlift transport, usually designed to carry no more than four passengers. A landspeeder’s repulsor field suspends the vehicle about a meter above the ground, even when the speeder is parked. Also known as skimmers or floaters, landspeeders are in constant demand on the desert world of Tatooine. An older model X-34 landspeeder was owned by Luke Skywalker before he escaped that planet and became a Jedi Knight.

One of the most common types of vehicles in the universe, landspeeders display a huge variety of designs. Some are small, single-person domes ringed with repulsorlift engines, while others are sleek, elongated craft with powerful propulsion units. All landspeeders have some sort of repulsor field generator responsible for lifting the vehicle above the ground even while parked. An array of propulsion units can be attached to the rear of the landspeeder to provide forward motion. Because of their versatility, landspeeders have been used to travel over virtually every type of terrain, including ice, snow, water, and sand.

On temperate worlds, landspeeders like Luke’s SoroSuub X-34 come standard with open cockpits and retractable duraplex windscreens. While the X-34 and other similar models can only carry a driver and passenger, magnetic clamps behind the seats can secure droids or small amounts of cargo. All landspeeders benefit from relatively simple controls that consist of a steering wheel and foot pedals. Storage space is usually extremely limited. Only a few family models, such as the V-35 Courier owned by Owen and Beru Lars, offer a large cargo compartment and additional seating.

The purchase of a second landspeeder was the cause of many heated arguments at the Lars homestead. The curmudgeonly Owen Lars was against wasting credits on frivolous expenditures, but his nephew reasoned that with his increased workload, he would need a speedy way to reach the moisture vaporators in the outlying ranges.

As usual, the calming influence of Beru Lars straightened out the disagreement, and Luke was able to purchase a worn and dented brown X-34 for 2,400 credits. Though Luke did use the speeder for joyriding, Owen at least respected that his nephew's constant tinkering on its power plant and thrusters was teaching the lad valuable mechanical skills.

To raise the credits needed to purchase passage off Tatooine, Luke was forced to sell his speeder. The popularity of the newer XP-38 models cut into the speeder's resale value, though Luke and Obi-Wan were able to finagle 2,000 credits out of the deal.

The X-34 retailed for roughly 10,550 credits new. It was light, unarmored, and featured no weapon mounts and was thus unsuitable for military applications, unlike the Seraph-class urban landspeeder or the Rebel combat speeder, also manufactured by SoroSuub. 

At the time of the Battle of Yavin, the most popular landspeeders included the Bespin Motors’ Void Spider TX-3, the Ubrikkian 9000 Z001, the Mobquet Deluxe, and the new SoroSuub XP-38.

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