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- "Not yet, but it's certain to be a piece of junk!"
- ―Sebulba to Ark Roose
Anakin Skywalker's Podracer was a custom-built Podracer built by a nine-year old Anakin Skywalker as a slave on Tatooine, and used to secure his freedom and the replacement hyperdrive components for Queen Amidala's ship during the Boonta Eve Classic.
Contents
Characteristics[edit | edit source]

The podracer repainted and used by Sebulba.
Anakin Skywalker's Podracer was constructed from a pair of Radon-Ulzer 620c turbines. One engine was put together from spare parts in Watto's junkyard. These parts included the burned-out turbines from Watto's own podracer, which Skywalker had eventually crashed. The other engine was acquired when Anakin bartered with Jawas. He modified the engines heavily, notably by improving the fuel injection system in order to increase thrust. Skywalker attached triple yellow air scoops to these engines to give the vehicle optimal maneuverability, especially while turning.[1] The cockpit was attached to the massive motors by Steelton control cables. The racer could reach breakneck speeds in the area of 947 kilometers an hour (588 mph), earning its title of the fastest podracer in the galaxy.[4] It could only fit one person; the pilot. Similar to the other podracers, Anakin's podracer possessed energy binders for keeping the podracer together during the race. The energy binders, if crossed by a biological being, also have a side-effect of causing the affected body part to go numb for several hours.[2]
History[edit | edit source]
Podracer symbol.
- "I've built a podracer. It's the fastest one ever!"
- ―Anakin Skywalker to his new friends
As a nine year-old slave, Anakin Skywalker regularly raced a podracer that belonged to his owner, Watto. In secret, Skywalker was building his own.[2]
In the Boonta Eve Classic race in 32 BBY,[6] Skywalker used his podracer to defeat his archrival, Sebulba the Dug and win his freedom from slavery.[2] The Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn helped repair the podracer by acquiring parts in Mos Espa. Just before the race started, a thief stole the plasma ignition capacitor. Jinn chased the thief and discovered that the part was held by a scavenger. Jinn defeated the alien and returned the part to Skywalker.[7]
After the race, Qui-Gon Jinn sold the pod to Sebulba, who repainted the vehicle orange and used it himself to qualify for the Vinta Harvest Classic, lifting the suspension he received following the Boonta. Eventually, the Dug passed it on to his son, Hekula. Hekula crashed the racer in an illegal Caves race on the planet Euceron during the Galactic Games of 26 BBY, nearly destroying it (but participating also was Anakin Skywalker, who once again defeated a Dug and won the race). The podracer was duly abandoned. Skywalker later reacquired the vehicle and again pitted it against Sebulba in one last rematch.
During 1 ABY, when the Galactic Civil War was intensifying, a spacer acquired a podracer that looked very similar to Skywalker's. This podracer was believed to be a mere replica, and not the same vehicle piloted by Skywalker.
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
The podracer first appeared in 1999's Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace and its tie-ins. The podracer was reimagined in LEGO form as a drivable vehicle in the 2005 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and its 2007 compilation re-release.
Appearances[edit | edit source]
Anakin's Podracer logo.
- Star Wars: Episode I Racer
- Podracing Tales
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace novelization (First appearance)
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace comic
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novel
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace video game
- Star Wars Episode I Journal: Anakin Skywalker
- Episode I: Anakin Skywalker (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars Episode I: Watch Out, Jar Jar!
- Episode I: Queen Amidala
- Episode I: Qui-Gon Jinn
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace ½ (Appears in flashback(s))
- Kinect Star Wars
- Dear Anakin
- Star Wars 14: Emissaries to Malastare, Part 2
- Star Wars 15: Emissaries to Malastare, Part 3
- Star Wars 16: Emissaries to Malastare, Part 4
- Jedi Quest: The Dangerous Games
Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (Replica)
- Tatooine Ghost (Mentioned only)
Non-canon appearances[edit | edit source]
- Star Wars: Anakin's Speedway
- LEGO Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
- LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
- LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
- Star Wars: Racer Revenge
- LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
- Star Wars: Yoda's Challenge Activity Center (Picture only)
Sources[edit | edit source]
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (reference book)
- Star Wars: Episode I toy line
- Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- Star Wars: Episode I Insider's Guide
- Star Wars: Power of the Jedi
- Star Wars: Episode I Incredible Cross-Sections
- Star Wars: Episode I Podracer Punch-Outs
- Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections
- Vader: The Ultimate Guide
- The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 2 (POD1-2, Anakin Skywalker's Podracer)
"Ask Lobot"—Star Wars Insider 128
Sebulba in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
Podracer, Anakin Skywalker's in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Expanded Visual Dictionary
- Battle for Naboo
Anakin Skywalker's Podracer in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
Boonta Eve Classic Podracer Pilots in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link)
"Launch Pad"—Star Wars Insider 150