Batman (1943 serial) In the 1943
serial film Batman, a black 1939
Cadillac Series 75 convertible was used by
Bruce Wayne and
Dick Grayson, as well as their secret identities Batman and Robin. (It was driven with the top down as Bruce and Dick, and with the top up when they were in disguise.)
Alfred chauffeured the Dynamic Duo in both identities.
Batman and Robin (1949 serial) In
Batman and Robin, the 1949 successor to the original serial, the duo drive around in a
1949 Mercury.
1963 promotional tours The first car ever publicly toured as a Batmobile was built several years before the Barris Batmobile of the TV series. It was inspired by DC Comics and was created in 1960 and finished in 1963 by Forrest Robinson of
Westmoreland, New Hampshire, The car was initially used unpainted for a short time as a daily driver and then later leased by a DC Comic licensee (National Periodical publications then owner of DC Comics licensed the use of Batman characters including the Batmobile to various companies), painted in Batman Colors replete with official Batman decals, and toured as "Batman's Batmobile" in several small towns on the East coast of the United States. After the TV Batmobile by George Barris was created and replicas were made available for promotional events in late 1966, the first Batmobile was returned to Robinson. Robinson then removed the official Batman decals, repainted it in silver, and again used it as a daily driver for a short time and then sold it. What became the iconic Batmobile used in the 1966–1968 live action television show and
its film adaptation was a customized vehicle that originated as a one-off 1955
Lincoln Futura concept car, created by
Ford Motor Company lead
stylists Bill Schmidt, Doug Poole Sr., and
John Najjar and their design team at the Lincoln Styling Department. In 1954, the Futura prototype was built entirely by hand by the
Ghia Body Works in
Turin, Italy, at a reported cost of US$250,000—the equivalent of approximately US$2.5 million in 2021. The chassis was an early prototype Y-shaped backbone perimeter frame that would go into production on the 1956–1957 Contential Mk II. It made its debut in pearlescent Frost-Blue white paint on January 8, 1955, at the
Chicago Auto Show. In 1959, sporting a fresh red paint job, the Futura was featured in the film
It Started with a Kiss, starring
Debbie Reynolds and
Glenn Ford. Barris was trying to get Hollywood's attention with the Futura, which he had purchased from Ford for the nominal sum of $1.00 and "other valuable consideration", but aside from its film appearance, the Futura had been languishing in his Hollywood shop for several years. With only three weeks to finish the Batmobile (although in recent years Jeffries says that his car was dropped because he was told it was needed in "a week and a half", he was quoted in 1988 as saying "three weeks" as well), Barris decided that, rather than building a car from scratch, it would be relatively easy to transform the distinctive Futura into the famous crime-fighting vehicle. Design work was conducted by Herb Grasse, working as an associate designer for Barris. Barris hired
Bill Cushenbery to do the metal modifications to the car and its conversion into the Batmobile was completed in just three weeks, at a reported cost of US$30,000. They used the primer-painted, white-striped car in October 1965, for a network presentation reel. Shortly afterward, the car was painted gloss black with "fluorescent cerise" stripes. Barris retained ownership of the car, estimated to be worth $125,000 in 1966 dollars, leasing it to 20th Century Fox and Greenway Productions for use in the series. When filming for the series began, several problems arose due to the car's age: it overheated, the battery died, and the expensive Mickey Thompson tires repeatedly failed. By mid-season, the engine and transmission were replaced with those of a
Ford Galaxie. The most frequent visual influence of this car is that later Batmobiles usually have a rear rocket thruster that fires as the car starts up. In November 2012 Barris Kustom and George Barris announced the sale of the Batmobile at the
Barrett-Jackson car show and auction held in
Scottsdale, Arizona. The vehicle fetched $4.2 million on January 19, 2013. The car was resold for an undisclosed amount and as of August 2016, Dave Anderson in Fairfax, Virginia owns the #1 made from the Futura Concept Car and he also owns the #2 car (the first replica that Barris built).
Technical specifications • Curb weight: • Wheelbase: • Length: • Width: • Height: • Fins: • Engine:
Ford FE V-8 • Transmission: B&M C-6 Automatic (2nd transmission)
Features This Batmobile's gadgets include a nose-mounted aluminum Cable Cutter Blade, Bat Ray Projector, Anti-Theft Device, Detect-a-scope, Batscope, Bat Eye Switch, Antenna Activator, Police Band Cut-In Switch, Automatic Tire Inflation Device, Remote Batcomputer—radio linked to the main Batcomputer in the Batcave, the Batphone, Emergency Bat Turn Lever, Anti-Fire Activator, Bat Smoke, Bat Photoscope, and many other Bat gadgets. If needed, the Batmobile is capable of a quick 180° "bat-turn" thanks to two rear-mounted ten-foot Deist parachutes. To answer viewer complaints about the parachutes being jettisoned on to the street as litter after deployment, the producers included a parachute pickup crew that is on standby to recover them, completed with a van so labelled. The main license plate seen throughout the series was 2F-3567 (1966). Some changes were made during the run of the series, including different license plates (TP-3567; BT-1 and BAT-1), removal of the Futura steering wheel and substitution with a 1958 Edsel steering wheel, and the addition of extra gadgets such as a net in the trunk, remote-controlled driving, a rear-facing camera under the turbine exhaust port, and the Bat Ram.
Exhibition Barris built two fiberglass copies of the original Batmobile for exhibition on the car show circuit and a third for exhibition
drag racing. Eventually, the three copies (and the screen-used metal Futura Batmobile) were covered with a black velvet "fuzz" paint, presumably to hide stress cracks in the fiberglass bodies. Later, all three were restored to their gloss black paint job. The three replicas are all based on a 1965–1966 Ford Galaxie. The #1 Barris-built Batmobile sold at Barrett-Jackson Auctions on January 19, 2013, for $4,620,000,. The three Barris copies all reside in private collections, including the exhibition drag racing version driven by
wheelstanding driver
Wild Bill Shrewsberry. This car was built with a dual-quad
Holman Moody Ford 427 V8 engine, Art Carr-prepared Ford C6 automatic transmission and 5.14 gears in the rear end. Quarter-mile times were in the mid-12 second range, primarily because Shrewsberry would launch the car in second gear and smoke the overinflated rear tires for show down most of the strip. The "rocket exhaust" was made functional via a tank filled with either gasoline or kerosene which was pumped out the exhaust port and ignited electrically. • The
#1 Barris-built Batmobile, built from the original 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car, was purchased by Richard Champagne of Ahwatukee, Arizona at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in January 2013 for $4,620,000. It was subsequently purchased privately by Dr. David Anderson, owner of Batmobile #2, for an undisclosed sum. • The
#2 Barris-built Batmobile is owned by Dr. David Anderson of Virginia, and has not been repaired or restored. Original purchase price was $225,000. • The
#3 Barris-built Batmobile was purchased and restored by Dennis M. Danzik of Paradise Valley, Arizona. It was reportedly purchased for $600,000. Danzik also owns the majority of the Warner Brothers 1989 Batmobile. • The
#4 Barris-built Batmobile is owned by Doug Jackson, and is located in Southern California. • The so-called
#5 Batmobile, originally built by Jim Sermersheim (on a 1958 Thunderbird chassis) was owned by George Barris until 1989. It went for sale on
JamesEdition in June 2017 for an asking price of $250,000.
Replicas In October 2010, DC Comics authorized Fiberglass Freaks in Logansport, Indiana, to build
officially licensed 1966 Batmobile replicas. These replicas have been sold to customers in England, Italy, Canada, and across the U.S. One of Fiberglass Freaks' 1966 Batmobile replicas sold at an RM auction for $216,000. Fiberglass Freaks' owner Mark Racop has been a 1966 Batman fan since he was two years old, and he built his first 1966 Batmobile replica when he was seventeen. A replica of the Barris-built, TV Batmobile was displayed alongside two of the later film versions of the Batmobile at the
Cars of the Stars Motor Museum in Keswick, Cumbria, England for several years. When the museum owner, a Keswick dentist, took delivery of the original car, he drove it through the streets of the town where it was promptly seized by the police. A hilarious newspaper photo showed the Batmobile being driven away by a uniformed, British 'bobby.' In 2011 the entire collection was sold to the American collector
Michael Dezer for his
Miami Auto Museum. • A replica Batmobile was sold at the Coys Spring Classic Cars Auction on February 27, 2007, at the
Royal Horticultural Hall in
London. Coys Auctions had said it expected the car to fetch more than £75,000 – the final and closing bid was £119,000, equivalent to US$233,000 at the time. • A replica of the Barris-built Batmobile is owned by Andreas Ugland. He bought the Batmobile at a London car auction in 2007. Both Batmobile and Batcycle at the London car auction were replicas. It is displayed at the
Cayman Motor Museum. • Hobbyists have built a number of duplicates of the TV Batmobile, sharing sources for parts and assembly kits. • A functional replica of the Batmobile was finished in 2010 in
Arboga, Sweden, for a reality show to be shot in the United States. In 2011, the vehicle, valued to 4 million
SEK (more than US$600,000) was reported stolen, and is currently (March 2013) unlocated.
Other appearances • In the 1980 low budget science fiction comedy
Galaxina, the Batmobile is seen parked on the street of a western styled town on an alien planet with unusual daylight effects. • In the film
Rock Star,
Mark Wahlberg's character is given to extravagant spending; one of his first purchases is the original Batmobile from the TV series. • The episode "
Mr. Plow" of
The Simpsons guest-starred
Adam West with the Batmobile at an auto show, with West later driving the car. The later episode "
Beyond Blunderdome" featured the Batmobile in a museum of famous cars next to
Herbie the Love Bug and a car from
Mad Max. The latter episode featured a live Batman and Robin in the vehicle, who had both tried poorly to conceal the fact that they were not dummies. • On an episode of
The Man Show, a guest won a ride in the Batmobile with Adam West in the "Wheel of Destiny" segment. • The Lincoln Futura version of the Batmobile appears in
The Benchwarmers. • The Batmobile appears as an
Easter Egg in the video game ''
King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne'', accompanied by a version of the 1966 TV theme. • In 2003, Adam West and
Burt Ward reunited for a tongue-in-cheek
telefilm titled
Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt which combined dramatized recreations of the filming of the original series (with younger actors standing in for the stars), with modern-day footage of West and Ward searching for a stolen Batmobile. • In issue 9 of the comic series
Justice (February 2007), Batman dons a suit of armor visually influenced by the original Batmobile from the TV series.
1966 promotional tours When the TV spin-off film
Batman was released in 1966, the studio decided to recreate the Batmobile for promotional purposes in the UK. For this purpose, a
1958 Chevrolet Bel Air, Impala, four-door sedan had its roof completely removed and replaced with the iconic double-bubble top. The rear doors were sealed, the remaining small front doors making it difficult to get in and out. Body modifications were quickly carried out by riveting aluminum additions over the original bodywork. Black and orange paint, plus decals, completed a passable replica that was street-legal on UK roads. Once its use for promotional purposes was complete, the car was delivered to a scrapyard.
Batman (1989 film) and Batman Returns Tim Burton's live-action films
Batman (1989) and
Batman Returns (1992) presented a different version of the Batmobile, which reflected those films'
Art Deco version of Gotham City. The car was designed by conceptual illustrator Julian Caldow and built by John Evans special effects team at Pinewood Studios in England. The body of the car was sculpted out of foam by Keith Short in collaboration with Eddie Butler and the fiberglass work being done by John Lovell. It was long, low, and sleek, and was built on a
Chevrolet Impala chassis. Two cars in total were built for the film. The back of the Batmobile resembles the back of the
Fiat Turbina, which was a gas-turbine concept from the 1950s. For
Batman Returns in 1992, Carl Casper and Tom Oberhaus of Hollywood Productions were contracted to build 3 Batmobiles for principal photography. Carl Casper retained the number 1 hero car until recently (2021). That car is now in a private collection in California. The number 2 car was last known to be in a private collection in Japan since 1992. The number 3 car is owned by comedian Jeff Dunham.
Technical specifications • Length: • Width: • Height: • Wheelbase: • Wheels: Cast alloy, 15 in × 6.5 in • Tires: High aspect L60-15 • Acceleration: 0–60 mph in 3.7 seconds • Maximum Top Speed: with jet booster • Maximum Turn Speed: with grappling hook • Maximum Jump Distance: • Engine: Jet Turbine • Fuel: High octane; 97% special (gasoline paraffin mixture) •
Torque: at 98.7% ROS • Launchers: Side-mounted grappling hook • Carjack: Central "foot" capable of lifting the car and rotating it 180°.
Features Spherical bombs could be deployed from its sides. An
afterburner was housed in the back. Two
M1919 Browning machine guns were hidden behind flaps in each fender. Its
grappling hook, once hooked on a structure, serves as an anchor to allow the batmobile to make an extremely sharp turn at high speed that its pursuers typically cannot duplicate. It had super hydraulic for course changes, and a Batdisc ejector (side-mounted) that could fire precisely 15
Batdiscs in the 1-second pulse. Other gadgets included
chassis-mounted shinbreakers, oil slick dispensers and smoke emitters. Inside, the two-seat cockpit featured aircraft-like instrumentation, a passenger's side monitor, self-diagnostics system, CD recorder, and voice-command recognition system. In
Batman Returns it is shown to have a secondary mode referred to as the "Batmissile", where the wheels would retract inward and the sides of the vehicle would break off, converting the car into a thin bullet train-like form capable of squeezing through tight alleyways. Obviously, this secondary mode would require the car to be reassembled and significantly repaired. The Batmobile's shields are made of
ceramic fractal armor panels. They explode outward when struck by projectiles, deflecting injurious force away from the car and its occupants. If Batman must leave the Batmobile for an extended period of time, he can, through a voice command spoken into a wrist device (specifically, the word "shields"), activate the Batmobile's shielding system. This prevents anyone from tampering with the vehicle while it is left unattended. Bulletproof and fireproof steel armor plates envelop the body and cockpit entirely. While this armor is in place, the vehicle cannot be driven. In
Batman the shields were not fully functioning. In reality, a life-size model was built, and the shield activation sequence was created with
stop motion animation technology. In
Batman Returns, the shields • In the
Arrowverse crossover event "
Crisis on Infinite Earths", the Tim Burton version of the Batmobile makes a brief appearance in the Earth-99 Batcave. • The 1992 Tim Burton "hero car" is now owned and held in a private collection in Southern California. This is the "Movie Car-1. Previously this car was in the builders' private collection. • The vehicle had a cameo appearance in the 2023 film
The Flash. • In the
Batwheels kids tv show, the main character is based on Tim Burtons's Batmobile, with some small differences. • This version of the Batmobile (as well as the
Batplane from the 89 Batman's film) appears in
Teen Titans Go!. • The film
DC League of Super-Pets features a Batmobile clearly inspired by Tim Burton's version. • Also featured in Lego Masters S5 E6 – Batman driven by
Will Arnett.
Replicas • The only actual turbine-powered Batmobile in existence is a replica of the 1989 film car. It is powered by a military Boeing turboshaft engine driving the rear wheels through a 4 speed
semi-automatic transmission and is street registered. This car was designed and constructed by Casey Putsch of Putsch Racing in 2011. • In Pune, India, a replica of the car was spotted in June 2015. • Replicas of the Tim Burton-era Batmobiles are on display in front of several
Batman: The Ride roller coasters and also in the street near
Batman Adventure – The Ride 2 at
Warner Bros. Movie World in Australia. • Historic auto attractions in
Roscoe, Illinois displays a replica Batmobile from
Batman Returns as well as the "Batmissile" in addition to a replica of the Batmobile from the 1960s television series. • A replica was spotted at the
Al Barsha area of Dubai, the United Arab Emirates in October 2020.
Batman Forever As the Batman films were handed over to director
Joel Schumacher from Tim Burton, the design for the Batmobile was updated. Tim Flattery drew the winning design. Decorative lighting was added to the vehicle's rims, sides, and front edge, and the wing-shaped fins reached further into the air. The car had a few unique features, such as being able to rotate its wheels through 90 degrees so that it could move in a perpendicular direction, a grappling hook allowing the Batmobile to drive up walls, and the speed to perform large jumps from surface to surface during chases across
Gotham City's elevated freeways and gigantic statues. The
Batman Forever Batmobile's ability to drive up walls was displayed as Batman eludes a dead-end provided by
Two-Face and his henchmen. Later in the film,
Dick Grayson takes the Batmobile for a joy ride without Batman's permission or awareness. Ultimately, it was destroyed when the
Riddler deposited a sack full of explosives in the cockpit. The design of the Batmobiles of the Schumacher films have garnered criticism for allegedly resembling giant
phalli.
Technical specifications The
Batman Forever Batmobile had a
Chevrolet 350 ZZ3 high-performance motor. The body is made from a high-temperature epoxy-fiberglass laminate. The wheelbase is 118 in. (), the average car wheelbase measures around 103 (USDOT Data 1980–2000) inches. In all, its size was 300 in long and 126 in high.
Carbon fiber was used to build the body of this particular Batmobile. The specifications for the Batmobile in this film are: • Length: 300 in (7.62 m) • Width: 94.4 in • Height: 126 in (3.20 m) • Maximum speed: 330 mph with booster • Engine: 350 hp (est.), 350 cu in
ZZ3 Chevrolet V8 engine, automatic transmission, custom front and rear suspension. • Wheelbase: 118 in • Tires: pivotable
Features The Batmobile depicted in
Batman Forever (1995) sought to accentuate its intricate lines. To do this, the filmmakers equipped it with engine panels, wheels, and undercarriage that were indirectly lit so that they appeared to glow blue. The
Batman Forever car also had a split cockpit canopy, separate fenders, and jet exhaust. The roof fin could be opened into a "V" shape for a more contemporary look, though the only time this was shown is during the scene when
Dick Grayson is taking the car out for a joyride through the city. The wheels were made to keep the bat emblems upright when the wheels are turning. The bat-emblem on the hubcaps was a counter-rotating gear that transferred into a stationary point. The two-seat cockpit featured a rear-view monitor, system diagnostics display, and custom gauge cluster.
H. R. Giger was chosen to design the Batmobile in the very early stages of production. Schumacher's crew was unable to understand how they could construct a functional version. Only two sketches and an early blueprint were completed. There were two primary avoidance/defense features on the
Batman Forever version. First, it had the ability to lock all four wheels perpendicular to its centerline, to allow for quick sideways movement. Second, for more dire circumstances, the Batmobile could reroute the jet exhaust to under its front end and launch grappling cables at overhead anchors. With the nose up and the lines in place, the car could climb sheer vertical surfaces like building walls as if it were driving on flat ground.
Other appearances • In episode 53 of the TV series
The Drew Carey Show,
Drew Carey won the
Batman Forever version of the Batmobile as a prize. Lewis and Oswald take it on a joyride dressed as Batman and Robin without Drew's permission.
Diedrich Bader, who portrayed Oswald, would later go on to voice Batman in
Batman: The Brave and the Bold. • In
The New Batman Adventures episode "
Legends of the Dark Knight", three teenagers discuss their ideas about what Batman is really like. They briefly meet a boy named Joel, whose idea of Batman consists mainly of a fascination with the tight rubber suits and a Batmobile that can drive up walls (as seen in
Batman Forever). The other three children treat Joel's ideas with disdain. • In the 2011 remake of the comedy film
Arthur, Arthur drives the
Batman Forever version of the Batmobile.
Batman & Robin (1997 film) A new Batmobile is seen in the 1997 film
Batman & Robin. The last Batmobile to appear in the motion picture series, was designed by Harald Belker. It is prominently featured in one scene in which, as Batman and Robin are in pursuit,
Mr. Freeze shoots the underside of the car for several seconds with a freeze-gun, before the car crash-lands. In the next scene in the
Batcave, the Batmobile appears undamaged.
Technical specifications In
Batman & Robin, the aerodynamic chassis design and "T" axis wheelbase provided the Batmobile counterbalance gyrometric stability, allowing for high velocity 90-degree turns at speeds greater than 70 mph without losing momentum. Initial plans had the Batmobile being able to transform into the "Bathammer" vehicle seen in this film,
[A] but were abandoned. The specifications for the Batmobile in this film are as follows: • Length: 396 in () long. The six flame columns formed a V-shaped output of 71 in (1.80 m) length. • Height: 59.05 in (1.5 m) • Maximum Speed: 230 mph on open road, 350 mph with afterburner thrust; TFX road tested the Batmobile at 140 mph. 350 km/h and the additional jet propulsion brings the cars to 530 km/h. • Engine:
Chevy 350 ZZ3 (off-road racing motor). Instead of a single jet exhaust, this Batmobile had a "boattail" rear flanked by separate fenders, each with three smaller exhaust nozzles. • Axle Base: 388 in • Tires: It rode on custom 22" wheels with prototype, 55 in
GoodYear tires with Batsymbols in the treads.
Features The second Schumacher era Batmobile featured neither a passenger seat nor a canopy. Like the
Batman Forever car, this Batmobile (which was designed by
Harald Belker) featured light-up wheels and engine panels. The displays were much more involved with this car, however, with red, orange, yellow, and blue lights, as well as special pulsating lights in the counter-rotating turbine intake. The nozzles were canted away from the centerline of the car slightly, so the final effect was that the six exhausts made a "V" pattern to keep the car pointed straight ahead. A bat mask was incorporated onto the nose of the car, although the sculpted lines made it somewhat difficult to make out at first. The fins were unmistakable and remain as the largest set ever built into a real-world Batmobile. On the
Batman & Robin version the arsenal of weaponry and gadgets is controlled by an onboard voice-activated computer that surrounds the single-seat cockpit. From behind the wheel, the driver has access to a multifunctioning key command response system that delivers immediate weapon activation during an attack and defensive procedures. The
Batman & Robin version of the Batmobile was equipped with dual-mount, sub carriage rocket launchers, front and rear grappling hooks, multipoint infrared and laser scan tracking units, anterior/posterior wheel-based axle bombs, catapult ejection seat, and disguised central carriage, which detaches to become an emergency road vehicle. The single-seat cockpit featured a two-way
video conferencing screen, radar unit, and Redbird communication switch.
The Dark Knight Trilogy '' The Batmobile depicted in
Christopher Nolan's
trilogy of Batman films owes much to the tank-like vehicle from
Frank Miller's
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns; it has a more "workhorse" appearance than the sleek automobiles seen in previous incarnations, designed for functionality and intimidation. While the films never refer to the vehicle as the "Batmobile", it is still referred to as such in the scripts. The film's
production designer described the machine as a cross between a
Lamborghini and a
tank. In
Batman Begins (2005), Bruce Wayne utilizes the
prototype vehicle known as the
Tumbler designed by Wayne Enterprises' Applied Sciences Division as a bridging vehicle for the military. It includes weaponry and the ability to boost into a rampless jump. The Tumbler's armor is strong enough to break through concrete barriers without sustaining significant damage. Two full-sized driving versions were used in exterior shots while another full-sized model with hydraulic enhancements was used in jump sequences. A further full-sized, functional version carried
propane tanks to fuel the rocket blast out of the rear nozzle. A
radio controlled, 1/3-scale electric model also performed stunts in the film including the rooftop chase sequence. Six vehicles were built for the production of the film. In
The Dark Knight (2008), the Tumbler returns and appears twice in the film: where Batman captures the
Scarecrow, and in a chase where it is damaged by an
RPG fired by the
Joker in an attempt to kill
Harvey Dent. This causes the Tumbler to crash and Batman to eject from it in the
Batpod (a motorcycle formed by the front wheels and struts of the Tumbler) as part of a self-destruct sequence that sees the remainder of the vehicle explode. The Tumbler is also seen in the trailers in a deleted scene, exiting the improvised Batcave.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) reveals a further complement of the unmodified Tumbler prototypes sequestered underneath Wayne Enterprises, which are commandeered by
Bane's League of Shadows to terrorize Gotham after Batman's defeat. One of the Tumblers fires at a crowd of police before their battle with Bane, only for the
Bat to intercept the shot. A trio of Tumblers continuously escorts the neutron bomb used to hold the city hostage, but are destroyed by Batman using the Bat and Selina Kyle using the Batpod.
Technical specifications Overview • Length: • Width: • Height: • Weight: • Acceleration: 0–60 mph (0-96.6 km/h) in 5.6 seconds. • Maximum top speed: • Maximum turn speed: • Maximum jump distance: • Engine: 5.7 litre GM V8 engine capable of . • Fuel: The "jet engine" on the back of the car was fed by propane tanks. • Tires: 4 Interco "Super Swamper TSL" tires standing 44/18.5-16.5 in the rear, and two 94.0/15.0-15 Hoosier Checkerboard dirt tires on the front, with superior grip.
Features The Christopher Nolan version of the Batmobile has a pair of
autocannons mounted in the nose of the car between the front wheels. In "Attack" mode, the driver's seat moves to the center of the car, and the driver is repositioned to lie face-down with his head in the center section between the front wheels. This serves two main purposes: first, it provides more substantial protection with the driver shielded by multiple layers of armor plating. Second, the low-down, centralized driving position makes extreme precision maneuvers easier to perform, while lying prone reduces the risk of injury a driver faces when making these maneuvers. Other devices included: • Rear flaps to assist brakes • Dual front autocannons •
Rocket launcher • Landing hook to
sprung landing stabilization • Integrated fire-extinguishing system • Integrated safety connection to gasoline control •
Jet engine (with afterburners) on back of vehicle for quick boosts/"rampless" jumps •
Stealth mode avoids detection using a variety of stealth technologies that reduce reflection/emission of
radar,
infrared, visible light,
radio-frequency (RF) spectrum, and audio; the car's lights and main engine are deactivated; the vehicle is powered by an auxiliary electric motor. This makes the car very hard to find at night or in dark places, and as demonstrated by the car chase in
Batman Begins, can easily throw off pursuers. • Explosive
caltrops are deployed from the rear of the vehicle, which can impair any vehicles that make contact with them. • The front of the car is heavily armored, so the car can ram as a practical offensive attack, and also protects the driver while in the prone driving position/"Attack" mode • Both front wheels can eject when the vehicle is damaged to form the
Batpod, a motorcycle-like vehicle (the rest self-destructs). • The new Tumblers are modified with experimental weapons: • A set of missile launchers • A retractable artillery cannon on a turret
Production process The new incarnation of the Tumbler was proposed by Nolan after he built a proof-of-concept model design out of
Play-Doh – a model he admitted looked "very very crude, more like a croissant than a car". Nathan Crowley, one of the production designers for
Batman Begins, then started the process of designing the Tumbler for the film by
model bashing based on that shape. One of the parts that Crowley used to create the vehicle was the nose cone of a
P-38 Lightning model to serve as the chassis for the car's jet engine. Six models of the Tumbler were built to 1:12 scale in the course of four months. Following the scale model creation, a crew of over 30 people, including Crowley and engineers Chris Culvert and Andy Smith, carved a full-size replica of the vehicle out of a large block of
Styrofoam, which was a process that lasted two months. The Styrofoam model was used to create a steel "test frame", which had to stand up to several standards: have a speed of over 100 mph, go from 0 to in 5 seconds, possess a
steering system to make sharp turns at city corners, and to withstand a self-propelled launch of up to . On the first jump test, the Tumbler's front end collapsed and had to be completely rebuilt. The basic configuration of the newly designed vehicle included a 5.7-liter Chevy
V8 engine, a truck axle for the rear axle, front racing tires by
Hoosier, rear 4×4 mud tires by Interco and the
suspension system of Baja racing trucks. The design and development process took nine months and cost several million dollars. Designed by production designer
Patrick Tatopoulos and Dennis McCarthy, the Batmobile is about 20 feet long and 12 feet wide. Unlike previous Batmobiles, it has a Gatling gun sitting on the front and the back tires are shaved down tractor tires. The Batmobile elevates itself for scenes depicting it going into battle or when performing jumps and lowers to the ground when cruising through the streets. The Batmobile appears in a flashback for
Suicide Squad, when Batman was pursuing the Joker and Harley Quinn before their car crashed into the river, the Joker escaping while Harley was captured. In the 2017 film
Justice League and its 2021
director's cut, Batman owns a new four-legged tank-vehicle called the "Knightcrawler", which was designed by
his father during
World War II. The Crawler is used in the fight against Steppenwolf to rescue
S.T.A.R. Labs scientists (including
Cyborg's father
Silas Stone) underneath an abandoned Gotham Harbor. Near the end, the
new team board the portable troop carrier aka "Flying Fox" carrying the new armored Batmobile to battle Steppenwolf in Pozharnov,
Russia. The 2019 DCEU film
Shazam! features an animated end credits sequence in which Bruce Wayne was shown changing into his Batman costume in Wayne Manor, before breaking through a window and chasing after the Batmobile, which was stolen by Shazam.
Technical specifications Overview • Length: • Width: • Height: • Weight: 7,000 lbs • Acceleration: Unknown • Top speed: • Maximum turn speed: • Maximum jump distance: • Engine: Unknown • Fuel: Unknown • Tires: 500lbsx4 • Suspension: One-off airbag over a bypass shock system
Arsenal • Grappling hook, countermeasures, machine gun • Twin .50 caliber machine guns • Fully armored • Stealth-capable • Active protection systems / anti-ballistics • 8500 lbs • BVS-20418-CC 900 55e9de20f38270.44527475
Defense systems • Electrified skin deterrent • Concealment smoke grenade launcher system • Antiroll system • Shield generator housing • Jamming signals system • Sensor assembly • Laser tracking assembly • Ballistic missile defense system • Electromagnetic pulse protection • Grapple hook compartment • Canopy
Modifications • Vaporized kryptonite • Infused kryptonite skin coating • Direct kryptonite vapor trajectory system • Kryptonite transit wave emitter • Class 4 cell krip (modified secondary weapons bay)
Armament systems • Heat ray crowd control dispersal cannon • Main weapons bay • Sound compliance non-lethal system • Xenon stun/spot searchlights • Secondary weapons bay • 12.7 × 108 mm anti-material weapon • Anti-material missile weapon • 19 Cowcatcher
Miscellaneous component and systems • Thrust vent (forward) • Electronic stabilization • Nitro-methane tank • Immobilizer • Muffler bearings • Turbo-thrust kinetic ion pulse drives • Turbine • Dogleg gearbox • Secondary nitro-methane tank • Helicopter lifting hooks • Exhaust ports • Air-to-ground refueling (AGR) • Gyro stabilization assembly (for the .50 caliber machine gun)
Tires • Front: 400/55-225 (tractor tires). Kevlar reinforced belted type IV armor • Rear: 700/50-225 (tractor tires). Kevlar reinforced belted type IV armor
Features '' (2016) In the DC Extended Universe, the Batmobile is depicted as a heavily armored assault vehicle, designed to emphasize Batman's militarized approach and the franchise's grounded visual style. The film portrays the car as capable of adjusting its suspension for different kinds of action sequences, including raised configurations for combat scenes and lowered positions for high-speed driving. Visual effects and practical design elements present the vehicle with a rear jet-style booster, used on screen to enhance the sense of rapid acceleration during pursuits and jumps. The exterior is shown as resistant to sustained gunfire, reinforcing the filmmakers’ intention to portray a machine built for front-line confrontation rather than stealth alone. Production materials and promotional guides list approximate dimensions of 20 ft (6.1 m) in length and 12 ft (3.7 m) in width, with an estimated fictional top speed of 205 mph (330 km/h). These figures reflect the design team's efforts to create a Batmobile that combines elements of military prototypes with high-performance automotive styling. The on-screen version is described as weighing roughly 7,000 lb (3,200 kg), aligning with the vehicle's appearance as a hybrid between an armored car and a concept super-vehicle. The vehicle's interior is styled after a fighter aircraft cockpit, consistent with the production team's utilitarian design philosophy. The cockpit layout features an array of switches, screens, and controls used to operate the fictional systems. Set decorators and prop designers also equipped the passenger side with a compartment resembling a compact armory, allowing Batman to access signature items such as Batarangs, grapple guns, and smoke grenades during key sequences. For action scenes, the Batmobile is shown using a front-mounted, gimbal-style machine gun and a rear harpoon launcher, the latter featured pulling or disabling other vehicles on screen. Additional systems, including missile racks, flare countermeasures, and electrical deterrents along the exterior plating, were incorporated to expand the vehicle's tactical presence within the narrative. The films also depict the Batmobile as capable of limited autonomous operation, a cinematic device used to emphasize Bruce Wayne's access to advanced technology through Wayne Enterprises.
The Batman (2022) The Batmans director
Matt Reeves tweeted photos of the Batmobile for the film as a
muscle car. With the bodywork of the car appearing to be a 1968 or 1970s Dodge Charger, the car is meant to be a pursuit and capture vehicle built entirely by Bruce in the Batcave under Wayne Tower. At the start of the film, the car appears in the Batcave covered, while Bruce is working on assembling the car. In an interview with
Empire magazine, Reeves also drew inspiration from the 1983
John Carpenter film
Christine to give the Batmobile a horror-like presence. The Batmobile has recesses on its hood which earlier were thought to be for machine guns, but are actually vents for the flame exhausts. These coupled with the exhaust pipes on the sides, and the hood which lights up as Batman is revving the car, give an intimidating appearance to onlookers and enemies alike. The car also has a jet afterburner built into the back, which apart from giving Batman a boost, also emits an unearthly shriek during its startup which Batman uses to intimidate his foes, as he does to the Penguin. The only flaw to this setup is that the back of the car housing the jet afterburner engine is exposed due to Bruce using the half-finished car later in the film. However the rest of the car, including the windows is heavily armored to the extent that bullets bounce off it, as shown when Penguin empties a magazine into the car but does not do any damage. The Batmobile also has four massive racing tires allowing for all terrain weather and driving conditions. The car is also shown to be durable enough to smash through wooden pallets and concrete cylinders without any damage, as well as being able to violently flip cars with its ram-like bumper, as done to the Penguin. Additionally, unlike the previous iterations of the Batmobile, and also owing to the half-finished nature of the car, this is the only Batmobile since the 1940s to not feature any gadgets beyond the armor, except for a customized car phone to make calls. Four units were built for the film. The primary driving unit is powered by a V8 engine that generates 650 horsepower. Another unit was built on a
Tesla chassis for indoor or night shots.
Gotham At the beginning of the Season Four episode "A Dark Knight: That's Entertainment", Alfred takes Bruce to the garage at Wayne Manor on his seventeenth birthday to present him with his gift: a heavily fortified matte-black Ford Mustang that functions as a proto-Batmobile, the choice of make being a reference to the original Batmobile which was a modified Lincoln Futura and manufactured by Ford.
Batwoman In the second season of
Batwoman, Ryan Wilder, the new Batwoman, drives the Batmobile as her vehicle of choice. ==Popular culture==