New rear-engined Batmobile on display in London

We’ve had our best behind-the-scenes look yet at the newest Batmobile

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UPDATE, March 2: The newest Batmobile has gone on display in London, offering an even closer look at Robert Pattinson’s cobbled-together ride from The Batman.

The fully-drivable vehicle shown was apparently used for exterior driving shots, as well as certain stunt scenes. It was also set up with a ‘rain rig,’ spraying water underneath the car for a wet weather effect.

Car Throttle hosts Alex and Jack were told the Batmobile makes about 650hp at the wheels, though the origins of the powerplant remain a mystery.

While early speculation indicated a twin-turbo V10 engine was mounted at the rear, the four ‘coil plugs’ on each bank suggest it’s actually a V8, which some punters suggest is based on a modern Hemi.

Most functional Batmobiles have used small-block Chevrolet engines, so the use of a Chrysler V8 would be a break from tradition.

Given the outlandish rear-mounted engine, there’s likely another, though actually functional, powerplant under the front of the car – paired to a manual gearbox and transfer case for four-wheel drive functionality.

Inside this version is a Corbeau bucket seat and OMP steering wheel. The shifter is a conventional-looking manual unit instead of the aircraft-style throttle lever seen in another new Batmobile. The front tyres are 30x12R18 Mickey Thompsons, with even chunkier rubber out back.

Three other Batmobiles were reportedly assembled for the film. One featured a camera mount in place of the rear engine, and another used heavily modified suspension to function as a ‘jump car’. Perhaps most intriguing is the last car, which was built using a Tesla chassis and driveline for near-silent operation when filming.

The Batman is in Australian cinemas today.

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UPDATE, 17 November: Fresh images of the Batmobile, which will be used in the Matt Reeves’s upcoming The Batman movie, have emerged – giving us our best look yet at the new machine.

The photos were shared on Twitter of the Batmobile on display at a hotel in Abu Dhabi, just a few months out from the worldwide release of The Batman on March 3 next year.

It appears the new Batmobile adopts a muscular and simplistic style taken from the 1960s and ’70s era of muscle cars, with the rear quarter window shape in particular giving us serious 1968-70 Dodge Charger vibes.

Details on the car itself are still unconfirmed, but previously teased images (see below) indicate the car uses a mid-mounted V10 engine.

The new Batmobile can be seen jumping through fiery wrecks and ramming villains in the latest The Batman trailer released last month in the hands of Robert Pattinson (playing Batman), indicating we’ll see plenty of high-octane car chase action in the new flick.

The Batman will hit theatres in Australia on March 3, 2022.

March 5: Based on the few images already released from Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman, Robert Pattinson’s version of the masked vigilante is a dark and gritty one – even more so than Christian Bale’s moody take in the acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy.

Set images leaked last year showed a realistic armoured costume and a blacked-out motorcycle with little more than a shaped fairing to reflect its ownership.

Now, Reeves has posted three images to Twitter of the newest Batmobile.

Naturally, the images are dark and foreboding, so it’s tough to tell what (if anything) the bodywork is based on. However, its 70s muscle-car styling is clear, with huge flared guards and a coupe-style beltline. From the rear, the skyward-pointing guards are almost reminiscent of a Porsche 917 race car.

Most interestingly, this Batmobile breaks from recent tradition by using what looks like a V10 engine in place of a jet turbine. The rear-mounted donk rests between chassis bracing, suggesting a lightweight spaceframe construction.

Of course, this isn’t the first major change for the Batmobile. Since his debut in the 1930s, Batman’s daily (or rather nightly) driver has seen many incarnations, most of them black.

Most recently, we saw Ben Affleck drive an alien-looking, gadget-packed version in pursuit of the Man of Steel in Batman v Superman.

In Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Christian Bale’s gravel-voiced crusader roamed the streets of Gotham City in the ‘Tumbler’. Behind the scenes, this machine was fully custom-built, packed a 400hp LS, and steered using fat Hoosier dirt-track tyres. It was also capable of performing huge jumps with an advanced suspension set-up.

Tim Burton’s quirky Batman trilogy delivered several designs, with the jet-powered 1989 version standing as an all-time great to fans.

Perhaps the most iconic Batmobile remains the twin-cockpit version from the 1966 live-action TV series. Based on a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car, it was the first real-world, custom version of the crime-fighting machine. It would appear that Pattinson’s new ride pulls some inspiration from this Batmobile, as it packed a 390ci Ford V8.

That’s not to mention the myriad animated interpretations of the car, including The Animated Series’ limo-style Batmobile and Young Justice’s Mercedes CLK GTR-based version.

Here’s hoping the latest Batmobile gets a good workout when The Batman is released in June 2021.

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