# Outrun Outrun is a 1980s-inspired retrofuturistic aesthetic built around neon sunsets, chrome grids, palm silhouettes and vintage sports cars, tied closely to synthwave music. Named after Sega's 1986 arcade racer Out Run, the look picked up steam on Reddit in 2013 and grew into a widely recognized internet aesthetic that fed everything from Simpsons couch gags to million-view YouTube parodies. ## Origin On September 20, 1986, Sega released the arcade racing game Out Run, designed by Yu Suzuki, in which players steer a Ferrari Testarossa Spider along tropical coastlines[1]. The game's palette and beach-boulevard art direction became the visual anchor the later aesthetic borrowed its name from. The music side took shape on February 22, 2013, when French synthwave producer Kavinsky released his debut album Outrun, which included 'Nightcall' from Drive's 2011 soundtrack[2] and 'Odd Look' from a 2012 French BMW commercial[3]. The album put a shared name over the growing online scene. - **Platform:** Sega arcade (name source) / Reddit (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2013 ## Overview Outrun art typically pairs pink and purple horizons, wireframe grids and Testarossa-style sports cars with synth-driven electronic music from artists like Kavinsky, Carpenter Brut and Power Glove[7]. The look pulls from the tropical backdrops of Sega's Out Run[1] and blends in the neo-noir mood of the 2011 film Drive, whose Kavinsky track 'Nightcall' became a scene anchor[2]. Unlike vaporwave, which leans ironic and mall-flavored, Outrun stays sincere and highway-obsessed, with fans posting original synth tracks, digital paintings and photo edits of coastal roads at sunset. ## How to Use To make Outrun-styled art, creators typically stack neon horizons, wireframe grids, palm-tree silhouettes and 1980s sports cars, often paired with synthwave or futuresynth music. Common conventions include pink-and-purple gradients, chromed metallic type and photo edits of tropical highways at sunset[7]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Outrun? Outrun is a 1980s-styled retrofuturistic visual and music aesthetic built around neon sunsets, chrome grids and vintage sports cars, named after Sega's 1986 arcade racer[1]. ### Where did Outrun come from? The style takes its name from Sega's Out Run, released on September 20, 1986[1], and gained shape as an internet aesthetic after Kavinsky's 2013 album Outrun and Reddit's /r/outrun launch that same year[2]. ### What does Outrun mean? Outrun refers to both the 1986 Sega racing game and the retrofuturistic synthwave-adjacent aesthetic named after it, covering music, digital art and film with 1980s pastel and neon cues[7]. ### How do you use Outrun? Fans post original synthwave tracks, digital paintings and photo edits featuring pink-and-purple sunsets, grid roads, palm trees and Testarossa-style sports cars, most often to /r/outrun[6]. ### Is Outrun still popular? The Outrun aesthetic peaked in visibility during the mid-2010s across /r/outrun, synthwave releases and mainstream nods like a 2016 Simpsons couch gag[5]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7tZFW4WedI]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT0iQRjHbW4]() 3. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEFKZ-7x7xU]() 4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZu5iDTtNg0]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIZYjrx4LbM]() 6. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/outrun]() 7. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Outrun]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/outrun Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library