The Dark Knight Rises has already made a splash at Comic-Con 2012 this afternoon, with all six of Batman's iconic Batmobile vehicles being put on display as part of Warner Bros. Extras Exhibit. Collider has photos of this awesome line-up, which has debuted in anticipation of The Batmobile, a new half-hour TV special airing on The CW before its inclusion on the special features of The Dark Knight Rises Blu-ray coming at the end of the year.
You can watch the full The Batmobile special in room 6DE on Thursday at 7pm. Check out all-six vehicles here. To see the full thirty pic gal: CLICK HERE
BATMOBILE FROM Batman TELEVISION SERIES (1966) - DRIVEN BY Adam West
Specs:
- Engine - 429 Ford Full Race engine
- Weight - 5500 lbs
- Width: 6 feet x 8 in
- Height: 4 feet x 11 in
- Length: 18 feet x 8 in
On-Screen Gadgetry and Weapons:
- Batphone
- Batscope
- Bat-turn lever, which pops the bat-chutes
- Chain-slicer or Bat-ram
- Bat-computer
- Batray reactors and laser beams
- Bat smoke screen
Originally a 1955 Ford Lincoln Futura concept car that cost $250,000, George Barris bought the car for $1 and had three weeks to transform it into Batman's ride.
The final paint job consisted of 40 coats of super gloss black.
BATMOBILE FROM Batman (1989) AND Batman Returns (1992) - DRIVEN BY Michael Keaton
Specs:
- 0 to 60 MPH - 3.7 seconds
- Width: 7 foot x 7 in
- Height: 4 feet x 8 in
- Length: 20 feet
On-Screen Gadgetry and Weapons:
- Grappling hook for high-speed turns
- Twin Browning submachine guns that rise from the body of the Batmobile
- Grenades deployed from the center of the wheels
- Full body armor that is bulletproof and fireproof
- Bat-disc launchers capable of taking out enemies on either side of the Batmobile
- Hydraulic lift for u-turns in tight places
- Voice Command recognition
- Oil slick dispensers
- Smoke dispensers
Production designer Anton Furst was inspired by Salt Flat racing vehicles and Stingray cars of the 1950s for his version of the Batmobile.
The vehicle can jettison the bodywork to form the Bat-Missle, narrowing the vehicle down to just the cockpit and turbine engine for quick escapes.
BATMOBILE FROM Batman Forever (1995) - DRIVEN BY Val Kilmer
Specs:
- Engine: Chevy 380
- Width: 7 feet x 9 in
- Height: 7 feet x 3 in
- Length: 25 feet
On-Screen Gadgetry and Weapons:
- Independent rear suspension
- Fenders and fins to create a Bat wing or Batman's cape effect
- Illuminated hub caps that stayed static while the car was in motion so that Bat symbol would always be seen up-right.
- Blue LEDs and alternating red and yellow lights for the side ribs to give it a look like it was breathing.
The full-scale vehicle was powered by a 25-gallon propane tank. When it was fired at full capacity, it could shoot a 25-foot flame out of the rear exhaust.
Production designer Barbara Ling wanted the Batmobile to look like an organic machine always in motion. Thus the fin design's structure mirrored a real bat's wing.
BATMOBILE FROM Batman & Robin (1997) - DRIVEN BY George Clooney
Specs:
- Width: 7 feet x 6 in
- Height: 5 feet x 8 in
- Length: 38 feet x 8 in
On-Screen Gadgetry and Weapons:
- Onboard Voice-Activated Computer
- 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
The only film version of the Batmobile that was a single-seat convertible.
The first design of this Batmobile resembled a bullet and had enormous wings emerging from the rear of the vehicle upon start up and retracting when the vehicle would come to a full stop.
TUMBLERS FROM Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) AND The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - DRIVEN BY Christian Bale
Specs:
- Front tires: Axel-less front end with Hoosier racing tires (also used on the Batpod)
- Rear tires: Super Swampers
- Width: 9 foot x 2 in
- Height: 4 foot x 11 in
- Length: 15 foot x 2 in
On-Screen Gadgetry and Weapons:
- Armor plating
- Attack mode, which transports Batman to the center of the vehicle for better maneuverability
- Silent Mode allows Batman to switch to electric power and navigate via night vision. Typically used to evade both enemies and police.
- Auto cannons
- Caltrops, which were rope mines released to explode behind the Batmobile and disable pursuing vehicles.
This incarnation of the vehicle is the only one that has ever been named something other than a Batmobile, i.e. the Tumbler.
The creation of the Tumbler first started when production designer Nathan Crowley and director Christopher Nolan bought a bunch of model kits and "kit-bashed" until they came up with a hybrid of a Humvee and Lamborghini.