Holy combustion, Batman! It's the five best Batmobiles!
Friday, 28 June 2019
This weekend is the 30th anniversary of the release of the 1989 movie Batman, director Tim Burton's brilliantly dark take on the Dark Knight that introduced one of the most iconic movie cars of all time in the form of his gloriously rocket-powered take on the Batmobile.
To celebrate this, today we take a look at five of Batman's best rides on in the various movies and TV programs over the years.
5. Batman (1943 serial)
While we were tempted to put the wonderfully silly 'Speedwagon' Batmobile from The Lego Batman Movie in fifth place, the original movie Batmobile - a convertible 1939 Cadillac Series 61 - from the 1943 serial Batman takes it by virtue of the fact that it is the only on-screen Batmobile that Batman (Lewis Wilson) and Robin's (Douglas Croft) non-crime fighting alter-egos Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson also drove around in.
Actually, make that 'rode around in' - the Cadillac was driven by Wayne's butler Alfred, both in Bruce and Dick guise (roof down) and Batman and Robin guise (roof up), because no-one would suspect the Dynamic Duo's true identities with that sort of cunning disguise.
4. Batman Begins (2005)
Close to 5 metres long and powered by a 5.7-litre GM V8 (oh, and a jet engine as well), the repurposed military prototype known as the Tumbler that served as Christian Bale's Batmobile in the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy was a hell of a thing.
Easily the least subtle Batmobile to feature on film (although Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns comic went even more tank-like in its dystopian take on Batman) the Tumbler was all about brute force and sheer speed.
Possibly the most awesome part was the fact that they actually built four fully-driveable Tumblers that actually did a lot of the stunts in the movies.
3. Batman: The Animated Series (1992 TV series)
A long extravagantly art-deco Batmobile was the order of the day in 1992's Batman:The Animated Series television show.
With a nodding stylistic acquaintance to the 1989 Burton Batmobile, the Animated Series take on Batman's ride was lower, squarer and even more aggressive. With its bonnet-breaching exhaust manifold suggesting V12-power, it also featured a jet engine and an armoured stationary mode (again, like the BurtonMobile).
Although it was replaced by a sleeker, sportier take on a Batmobile in later years (the series ran until 1995), the original has become a beloved entry in Batman's cinematic garage. And, yes, there is at least one fan-built, fully driveable one in existence.
2. Batman (1965 TV series)
Did you really think the utterly iconic Adam West Batmobile from the 1965 television series wasn't going to be here?
Created in just three weeks by legendary Hollywood car customiser George Barris from an old Lincoln concept car - the Futura that already had a film credit, having appeared on screen in the Debbie Reynolds movie It Started With a Kiss - the '65 Batmobile was ambiguous about its power source (apart from that rocket booster at the back, of course), but the original Futura was powered by a 6.0-litre V8. So probably that.
The original Barris car was sold at auction in in 2013 for a colossal US$4.6 million.
1. Batman (1989)
Yeah, it's the Burton Batmobile in first spot. Although, to be perfectly honest, depending on the day it could be interchangeable with the '65 Barris Batmobile…
Tim Burton updated the idea of the Batmobile with a faster, more heavily armoured take that would shape cinematic Batmobiles for decades to come, as they became more weaponised and tank-like. But its sleek, almost Dodge Viper-like profile (the Viper would come out two years later) made it one hell of a sexy tank.
Of course, that massive jet engine that ran through the middle was just the icing on an already over-the-top cake. Just perfect for Burton's dark and twisted take on the Batman legacy.