Most comic-book superheroes get about using their special powers; Batman accessorises. That makes him a dream character for production designers, toy manufacturers, and obsessives old enough to ascribe their enthusiasm for a new Batmobile to "an interest in automotive design" rather than, say, some untreated developmental deficiency. And now there's a brand new toy: Zack Snyder, director of the forthcoming Batman v Superman, has just unveiled the latest iteration (along with a new suit, and presumably utility belt, for Ben Affleck).
In movie prop terms, the Batmobile takes some beating. Yes, James Bond has cool, gadget-stuffed sportscars too, but his have to look like actual cars, whereas the design brief for Batman's ride seems to be: make it look like the stuff of schoolboy dreams. The fact that my most prized possession as a seven-year-old was a Corgi, Adam West-era Batmobile toy has no bearing on this discussion.
Reading on mobile? Watch video of the original Batmobile in action
That original 1970s version, designed and owned by George Barris, was essentially a customised Lincoln Futura coupé (the original sold for some £2.5 million last year). The Batmobile in the movies has come a long way since then. In the Michael Keaton era, it was a ludicrous stretch roadster with a bonnet so long, it must have been a nightmare to park – no wonder he built in an escape pod. In the Joel Schumacher era, as the franchise devolved into excess, the Batmobile became even more stretched, styled and impractical: backlit wheel hubs, flame-spouting afterburners, giant tailfins that would have you checking the height restrictions under low bridges. All of this stuff was no help whatsoever when it came to evading capture or closing down the Penguin in gridlocked Gotham, but it was great inspiration for pimping up your urban 4x4. Batmobile aesthetics have undeniably trickled into commercial design over the years: witness the rise of the all-LED headlight, as seen on the distinctly Bat-like Audi A8.
Christopher Nolan mercifully cleaned the slate in Batman Begins. Gone were the streamlined gothic profile and outsized fins; the Tumbler, as the Nolan-era Batmobile has come to be known, looked more like a military vehicle – a cross between a a Stealth bomber, a monster truck and a Lamborghini. Squat, heavily armoured, geometric, highly maneouvrable and terminally mean-looking with its independent front axles and vaguely bat-like face. And it actually worked. It could do 100 miles an hour. "They jumped one of them 58 feet onto the freeway and it drove around to do take two," said designer Nathan Crowley. Apparently, the design came about by Crowley and Nolan buying a bunch of Airfix models and gluing bits together till they got something they liked – Audi could learn something there.
The fact that Zack Snyder can generate excitement just by tweeting some teasing snapshot of the latest version – to be seen in the forthcoming Batman Vs Superman movie – is testament to the lure of the Batmobile, and, perhaps, the proximity of furtive automotive worship to pornography.
From what's been revealed so far, it looks to be a fusion design: the long bonnet and slung-back cockpit hark back to the cartoonish Burton era, while the exposed, chunky wheels and armoured carapace are more in the Nolan assault-vehicle lineage. The rear visibility looks terrible. Fans are unlikely to mind as long as it's black. Personally, I'm more interested in how they're going to do Wonder Woman's invisible jet plane. Has anyone seen a photo of that?
