Sometimes, life imitates art.
Two decades after its debut in “Batman Begins,” the Batmobile known as The Tumbler is jumping off of the silver screen and into the real world.
Wayne Enterprises, which is an actual company that specializes in high-end Batman-inspired merchandise and collectibles, has commissioned a working recreation of the Tumbler for would-be Bruce Waynes.
Among the products in its catalog, which makes The Sharper Image look like a discount toy store, are a $20,050 bat ear-shaped armchair, and Mr. Wayne’s diamond ring listed for $333,500. There is also a Kryptonite ring with a 3.16-carat green diamond for $800,400, in case you’re having issues with your BFF, Superman.
The Tumbler is designed to look more like a high-performance stealth paramilitary vehicle than the stylishly campy Batmobiles that proceeded it, in keeping with the dark mood of the Christopher Nolan-helmed film series.
In Batman canon, it was a modified version of a bridging vehicle designed for the military by the Applied Sciences Division of the fictional Wayne Enterprises. The research and development department, overseen by Morgan Freeman’s Lucius Fox in the film trilogy, was used as a cover to develop technology to support Mr. Wayne’s vigilantism.
Batman superfans have built homemade replicas of the vehicle before, but the Wayne Enterprises version is officially licensed and based on the movie vehicle, the design for which was created by production designer Nathan Crowley using parts from model cars, boats and planes. Its launch coincides with the 85th anniversary of Batman’s first comic book appearance in 1939.
The Tumbler is being built by California’s Action Vehicle Engineering, which specializes in movie stunt vehicles and wild custom creations, including full-size replicas of Hot Wheels cars.
It features a hardy tubular frame constructed from aeronautical steel and its stealthy bodywork is made from a combination of kevlar, carbon fiber and fiberglass.
The jet engine exhaust sticking out between its four rear swamp tires is fake, as are the gun turrets up front, but a functional smoke screen system is installed.
The vehicle is about as long as a Chevrolet Corvette, but as wide as a Chevrolet Silverado pickup and weighs 5,511 pounds. Its engine has been upgraded from the movie car’s, which was a General Motors 5.7-liter V8 rated at 500 hp, to a GM 525 hp 6.2-liter V8 similar to the Corvette’s that’s paired with a four-speed automatic transmission.
Images of the two-seat interior have not yet been released, but the company says that it has a mix of high-tech crimefighting and luxury features that include a digital dashboard, a Lowrance radar system, deep bucket seats with five-point racing harnesses, one-way mirrored windows and Alcantara trim.
Unfortunately, since the Tumber is not based on an existing vehicle it is not legal for road use as sold. It is unlikely that Batman’s was registered and insured, either, but he’d have bigger problems to worry about if he ever got pulled over by any police officer not named Jim Gordon.
You’ll also need Bruce Wayne money to buy it. Wayne Enterprises is offering 10 for sale priced at $2.99 million each and they are not sitting in the Gotham City Cars parking lot.
The company is currently accepting applications for allocations. Once approved, the buyers will participate in the production process as the vehicles tailor-made for each of them over the course of 15 months.
They say crime doesn’t sleep, but hopefully, it will while you wait for your Tumbler to arrive.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
