The Bat Rides

(Yes. We put the image of Anne Hathaway on the Batpod as the cover for this article on purpose for obvious reasons.)

You sit at the cinema, munching popcorn and soaking yourself in Nolan’s directorial masterpiece. People cheer for Wayne, Batman, Bane and Catwoman. The loudest is saved for Batman’s toys. Obviously. When you have a Batmobile, you do not have to worry about parking. Not about traffic either because you’d virtually have the street to yourself. The only thing you might worry about is the mileage.

It’s every guy’s fantasy. The Batmobile.

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Batman (1966)

This was the first time the Batmobile made its entry. And yes, it did with a bang. The Batmobile was a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car. The base car already possessed a long list of “Bat Features” viz long fins and bubble canopies. The nose became a bat mask. The fins were changed to Batwings. And yes the car was black with a dash of red to highlight certain lines of the car. The Batmobile had a nose-mounted chain slicer, lasers, rockets, an on-board telephone, radar, dash monitor, on-board computer, and police beacon along with smoke emitter and nail spreader. The car was reportedly bought for US$1 and customized at a whopping US$250,000.

Technical specifications

• Curb weight: 5500 lb
• Wheelbase: 126 in
• Length: 226 in
• Width: 90 in
• Height: 48 in
• Fins: 84 in
• Engine: 390 in³, V-8 (so-called “atomic turbine”)
• Transmission: B&M Hydro Automatic (2nd transmission)

Batman and Batman Returns (1989):

Designed by Anton Furst, The Batmobile improvised the image of Batman. It accentuated his darker and serious side. The car was powered by a Chevy V8. The body was a custom-built fabrication, result of two Impala chassis’ spliced together. The batmask was replaced by a large jet turbine intake flanked by sweeping, mandible-like front fenders. Cold air intakes for the afterburner were mounted ahead of the rear fenders. The rear of the car was influenced by the 1930’s design and had a heavy look to it. The aircraft-like instrumentation and voice-command recognition system were a major addition to the Batmobile. Add to this spherical bombs, a pair of M1919 Browning machine guns, side-mounted disc launchers, and chassis-mounted shinbreakers- you have a simple yet powerful and not to forget stylish ride.

Technical specifications

• Length: 260.7 in
• Width: 94.4 in
• Height: 51.2 in
• Wheelbase: 141.0 in
• Wheels: Cast alloy, 15 × 6.5
• Tires: High aspect L60–15
• Acceleration: 0–60 in 3.7 seconds
• Maximum Speed: 330 mph with booster
• Engine: Jet Turbine
• Fuel: High octane; 97% special (gasoline paraffin mixture)
• Torque: 1750 lbf.ft at 98.7% ROS

Batman Forever (1995):

This Batmobile, designed by Barbara Ling was more of a phallic symbol than a car. Of course, ribs and wings were added to probably make it more masculine. Carbon fiber was used to build the body and it was powered by a Chevrolet 350 ZZ3 high-performance motor. The most Chuck Norrisque feature of the Batmobile was it could climb walls.

Technical Specifications:

• Length: 300 in (7.62 m)
• Width: 94.4 in
• Height: 126 in (3.20 m)
• Maximum Speed:330 mph with booster
• Engine: Off-road running engine
• Wheelbase: 118 in
• Tires: Pivotable

The Nolan Trilogy:

Undisputed champion of all Batmobiles is the Tumbler or to be precise- “cross between a Lambo and a tank”. The Batmobile when on the streets flexed it’s might with ease. Apart from making other cars look like sore losers, the Batmobile also houses the Batpod. Machine guns and adjustable seat for the Batman are some features worth mentioning.

Technical specifications

• Length: 15 feet 2 inches (4.62 m)
• Width: 9 feet 2 inches (2.79 m)
• height 4 feet 11 inches (1.50 m)
• Weight: 2.5 short tons (2.3 t)
• Acceleration: 0–60 in 5.6 seconds.
• Engine: 5.7 liter GM V8 500 HP
• Fuel: 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.

The Batpod

The Batpod designed by Nolan and Crawley is more than an escape vehicle. The Tumbler’s front wheels are the two tires, and it is powered by a high-performance, water-cooled, single-cylinder engine with no exhaust pipes. The Batpod requires special skills to be maneuvered- using shoulders, not arms and lying down on your belly. The Batpod is given freedom to swap axes to give the rider more stability.

All the above run on petrol by the way. Just saying.

A big thanks to a number of search results from Google to supplement the article!