We all know the story: Bruce Wayne, an orphaned billionaire who made a vow to avenge his parent’s untimely death by waging war on criminals in Gotham City. To do so, he adopted the symbol of a bat to prey on crooks, a cowardly and superstitious lot. This year things are different for Batman, the dark knight. He now sets his eyes on battling the other famous caped hero, Superman, in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice which finds the two caped crusaders in conflict over what sort of hero the world needs. That’s right, we’ve got a new Batman movie on the way and every new Batman needs the comic character’s most famous crime-fighting tool in his history: his car, the Batmobile.

The hype for this latest superhero smackdown of the ages kicks into high gear in time for its March 25th release. The new Batman, played by Ben Affleck, has his grudge match with Superman played by Henry Cavill and we already have so much to get excited over. Today, however, we’re getting an inside look at the centerpiece of the film’s lavish production design, the new Batmobile.

 

Production designer Patrick Tatopoulos set out to make an instantly iconic incarnation of the vehicle. And it’s not without remarkable history for Tatopoulos himself. Since the 60s, he has been fascinated with the different versions of the car’s existence as the aesthetic complement to every vision of Batman and his world. Altogether, it took him about five months to construct two vehicles once the actual designing process was finished. The goal of his design to go in with Ben Affleck’s Batman was to make every part of the car have “the slight undertone of the subliminal idea of the bat.” (from DC All Access)

So how did Teutopolis pull off this feat? He molded his initial design based on the anatomy of a bat. Compare the new version to the original, which was basically a fancy Lincoln Futura with red and black trim. This new take is less “militaristic” than the monster of the Christopher Nolan-directed Batman trilogy with a much sleeker, high-tech and futuristic design. It’s the most angular and feral version of the car since Tim Burton’s 1989 version.

Here is the description of the car from the Batman v Superman website:
“Single-handedly designed and fabricated in near complete seclusion by The Batman, this infamous pursuit and capture vehicle has earned its reputation as the apex predator on the mean streets of Gotham City. It was an overpowered machine thanks to an unmatched hybrid of military-prototype and civilian performance technologies, estimated to reach speeds of up to 205 MPH. The Batmobile’s imposing defense capabilities, supported by stolen Wayne Industries technologies, have been integrated with the latest in covert military grade armaments, stealth and active protection systems.”

We know that this version of the car uses sculpted tractor tires and we know it uses a modified Chevy V8 engine and is capable of hitting 205 miles per hour, but what else have we managed to uncover about the comic book car come to life?

• Twin .50 caliber retractable machine gun turret
• Fully armored
• Stealth-capable
• Active Protection Systems/Anti-ballistics
• 20 ft. long/12 ft. wide
• 7000 lbs.

What do you think? Will Batman be able to stand up to the man of steel in this mean machine? Or is the rodent-garbed racer destined to be roadkill? Find out when you see the movie!
Until then, comment below and share with us your thoughts on the latest Batmobile and where it places in your list of favorite versions! And don’t forget to check out the history of the Batmobile and how it’s changed throughout the years here.