This is the first article for our Fused 5: Five Days of Knight! – Getting everyone “Fused” for the upcoming Dark Knight film.
Did you know that there were TWO Batman movies before the (incredibly camp) 1966 outing? (1943 and 1949 respectively) For those of you who did, did you know that there was NO Batmobile in either one?
That’s right, Batman was condemned to wander the streets on foot, or catch a bus, or driving round in a dodgy looking convertible (okay so I made the bus one up).
So with that in mind, I think you can guess the first ‘mean machine’ I’ll be rolling out for you all:Batmobile Replica
The 1966 Batmobile (A 1954 Lincoln Ventura)
There you have it folks, the original – and arguably the most iconic – Batmobile was none other than a customized Lincoln Ventura, bought from Ford as a last minute fix.
But what a fix! Not only did the design excite children and parents alike, but it also remains to this day one of the most recognizable cars in the world!
The Ventura-Batmobile ran through both seasons of the Batman TV Series and also featured in the 1966 movie of the same name, not a bad investment as it’s purchase price amounted to just $1.00!
1990 & 1992 Batmobile
After the Batman TV Series was cancelled after only two seasons, it would be nearly a quarter of a century before we saw the Batmobile on screens again. In that time the comics had evolved into much a darker, sleeker incarnation of their former selves, and this was reflected in the 1990 hit BATMAN, directed by Tim Burton.
For what is considered the first major appearance of Batman in film, Burton designed a world full of crime and decay, with mean streets and even meaner criminals. For this world, Burton needed a mean machine that was up to the job!
The Batmobile in BATMAN was built on the longer platform of a Chevrolet Caprice, while for BATMAN RETURNS he opted for a Buick Riviera. Two things remained constant throughout both of these movies, the car looked the same, and all the gadgets are reported to have been fully functional.
Now I don’t mean that in Batman Returns the car fully folded in on itself to pass through a small alleyway, but to take an example of the mastery of these vehicles you need only look at its jet engine. The FULLY FUNCIONAL jet engine consumed fuel at such an outstanding rate that there was only enough fuel capacity to run it for approximately fifteen seconds!
Tim Burton’s version of the Batmobile was later seen in the Louis & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode called “Don’t Tug On Superman’s Cape,” an episode which shows that some collectors had apparently stolen the Batmobile.
1995 Batmobile – (The Kilmer Car)
For the 1995 film BATMAN FOREVER, we were supposed to be treated to a new Batmobile designed by ALIENS creator H. R. GIGER, unfortunately, Warner Bros rejected his plans and Giger pulled out.
Instead we were given a car designed by Barbara Ling. Ling wanted a Batmobile that looked more organic, and so created a car that looked like it sported ribs and wings (no I’m not talking takeaway here folks). As well as the ribcage, there were several other additions to the car that made this machine stand out from the rest. Included in the changes were a front-lit nose, bat-sign wheel detail and a fin that could open into a ‘V’ shape (I guess the last one is to give the V-Sign to other drivers when you have your hands full).
Like the movie, the vehicle (while quite cool looking) tanked. It was just too much, it wasn’t BATMAN. After all, how could he be called ‘The Dark Knight’ if he drove around lit up like a Christmas tree?
1997 Batmobile (The Pratmobile)
Next came a new improved Christmas tree – I mean Batmobile. Okay so the car wasn’t half bad, it’s just a shame it was wasted on such a terrible movie!
Joel Schumacher returned to direct what would become known as the worst Batman film ever, and nearly buried the franchise in the process.
This time around Ling felt that her creation needed much more screen presence, and as such she set out to design a car that was truly larger than life.
Measuring 30ft long and hitting speeds of 140mph (presumably in straight lines), Ling set about creating a car she could be truly proud of…
…I bet now she wished she hadn’t bothered!
2005 + Batmobile (The Tumbler)
Nearly a decade after Batman & Robin, WARNER BROS decided to have a go at ‘re-booting’ the Batman franchise. They chose a young, quiet, relatively unknown director by the name of Chris Nolan to helm the project and the rest, as they say, is history.
In Chris’s world, BATMAN would literally leave the page of the comic book and become as real as you or I, and to reflect that, his ride needed some serious pimping!
THE TUMBLER, as its known, is completely different from anything in either the movies or the comic books before it. The closest comparison would be the tank driven in Frank Miller’s ‘The Dark Knight Returns’.
Designed by Nathan Crowley & Christopher Nolan and built by movie car engineers Chris Corbould and Andy Smith, The Tumbler – it has to be said – is probably the most ugly ‘car’ I’ve ever seen. But therein lays its beauty.
Rather than opting for neon lights and bat signs, the creators of this masterpiece have designed the car around its purpose. Function over aesthetics, NOT the other way around.
The Tumbler itself was worked into the story both quickly and easily, for a company such as Wayne Enterprises, having experimental military kit laying around doing nothing is not too much of a stretch for the imagination. Give it a black spray job and VIOLA! Instant Batmobile!
Weighing in at a massive 2.5 tons and measuring 9 feet wide and 15 feet long, it’s difficult to believe that this chunky looking monster can still get from 0-60 in under 10 seconds. Well guess what? It can.
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So there you have it, the history of the Batmobile in (just) under two pages! I bet Kevin at Fused Film will kill me for taking up so much screen space but what can I say? With the Batmobile you just have to do things properly right?
