Gizmodo
While most of us enjoyed yesterday's Dark Night trailer—though we found typing on lopsided laptops for the remainder of the day a bit inconvenient—watching Batman on the silver screen has and will always be a vicarious experience. It's a humbling reminder that we weren't separated from our parents by tragedy and that we don't live in cities completely overrun by psychotic criminals who lust for torture more than money.
But at least we can score the real Batmobile.
From Tim Burton's original Batman, an eBay seller is offering up one of the five existing Batmobiles. It's 20 feet long and 8 feet wide, sitting on a custom-built chassis and powered by a Chevrolet 350 engine.
Of course you get creature comforts like black leather seats, but it's the vehicle's inconvenience that seals the deal on its $500,000 pricetag. You have to enter from the top canopy, just like Batman did in the movie. Because superheroes fucking hate doors. [eBay via autblog]
Comments
Alas, I've been spoiled by the Tumbler.
Alas I still like the old school Batmobile.
(Turn the camera sideways, I feel like climbin'!)
@Kaiser-Machead: The Tumbler? Come, come now! You silly Hohenzollern. This is the REAL Batmobile!
almost 20 years old, but still looks better than that joke of a tumbler fumbler. Does it include the rocket engines?
You haven't lived on the morth side of Dublin then. Torture ain't the word
Giz should start a donation/raffle/timeshare pool to buy this. I know I'd fork out to drive it around for a day
@discounteggroll: Count me in, I would love a piece of time share on this.
Man I remember when I was like 11 or so, Batman Forever came out, and I was lucky enough to see the shitty Kilmermobile at a local mall in West Hills ... yeah - this one is WAY better than that shit.
Do those gauges actually do anything. They kinda seem very cosmetic.
No, there really is an ejector seat, numbskull.
and by the way, the tumbler is bad ass but this Batmobile wins on style.
This is by far my favorite Batmobile to date. Sure the new Bat Tank thing is awesome but this has class. The original Batmobile was alright and all but didn't exactly scream "Dark Knight". It more giggled "Adam West" in my mind.
Maybe the Noid should have avoided me.
But can you parallel park it?
This and the 66 Batmobile are the best ones!
This is the sexiest supermobile of all time. I'd buy this in a second if I had the money.
...coming from a man that cannot stand Batman and all his lameness.
@strider_mt2k: nananananana sideways!!!
@bms: The Bat does not parallel park... ever.
Ya gotta love a car that looks as if it hasn't been built so much as wrapped around a jet engine... ;)
The Audi R8 drinks the Batmobile's milkshake. It drinks it up.
Something tells me that whoever buys this is bound to look more like Alfred Pennyworth than Bruce Wayne.
@Joseph: I hope you're kidding. All of the guages are Auto Meter Pro Comps and they would be a waste of money if they weren't functional. With 5 batmobiles, a few of them had to be FULLY funtional for scootin around the sets. Those were most likely not so 'pretty' on the inside like this one. I'd bet all of those are fully functional.
Why is it sold as a "1980" batmobile?
Yeah, after seeing the Tumbler this one doesn't seem to have the same luster. Face it Tim Burton, your bat man is no longer the best ther was...
If the number of miles on the odometer are any indication,(54 miles) methinks driving this thing must suck and all this would make is a nice dust collector. I mean if I owned that car, I would have at least 100 miles on it...
I know keeping the mileage down is important, but give me a break.
A police department should pick this up.
I agree that this Batmobile has style, but the Tumbler is still the better badass gadget.
tumbler is better..but a warthog(from the Halo series) is better.
M12 Warthog Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
@wingbatwu: If I remember correctly, I believe it has a 1980 Chevy Impala frame & drivetrain -- although the frame was extended somewhat.
you mean some one actually drives that too works.
Question: What the hell was the point in the tumbler of constantly having Batman change positions from laying down to sitting up from laying down to sitting up. It was soooo completely pointless.
Seriously, they couldn't write a little more dialogue to fill time while Batman's driving, so they decided to making him lay down, sit up, lay down, sit up to add action into a driving sequence???
@tehronin: You know you're wrong, correct?
Tim Burton's Batman was far better than Batman Begins. The Batmobile is also much cooler than the BatSUV.
I actually got to drive this exact vehicle as it made its way around the country on tour to various 6 Flags. Granted it was only from the trailer that it was hauled in to the staging area, but wow, it was too cool. Not to mention the coolness of having to wear the Batman suit and cowl to "not break character in front of the patrons."
@GOKOR: Oh yee of little grey matter, one cannot be wrong with a statement based on an opinion. FACT.
@GOKOR: No way in hell is Burton's Batman better than Batman Begins. I found myself indifferent to Keaton, and while Jack is always interesting, he wasn't a convincing clown of death to me. Frankly, the one and only good thing that I've come away with from that movie IS the Batmobile. After watching Batman actually punch a hole in the floor of it like a cheap toy in Batman Returns, they took the luster of the car away from me too.
@tehronin: You would be right, given that it's an opinion. Factually, the 1989 Batman is better than Batman Begins (just go with me on this, because that's how I'm working it and I'm not changing my mind or willing to concede...we'd both just end up bickering for hours and look retarded).
That's not to say Batman Begins wasn't a top five Superhero movie behind Superman, Batman, and the first X Men movie.
Never did like the Tumbler. It seems like more of a prop than a "Batmobile".
Utility was never really the point of the BM, it was about style. The Burton car and the 66 model are the two best in my book.
I'm not sure that I would have put my phone number on the auction, really.
He'll have jackasses calling him up about "hey yo I wanna buy the batmobile" for an eternity.
@Kaiser-Machead: To each his own and as far as which one is better, the original Burton Batman and the new Dark Knight series are equally great since they reflect different styles and periods in the Batman genre. I have to disagree with your opinion of the Nicholson, considering his role in the Shining and his trademark smirk he was an outstanding Joker being both comically cartoonish and evil at the same time, like those freaky birthday clowns that haunt our past.
@strider_mt2k: Holy Suspension of Disbelief Batman!
Though I like "Batman Begins" better and feel it's one of the best superhero movies around, I like Burton's take. I find it strange that people can't accept them both at their own worth. Comic books have different writers and artists all the time yet they are accepted. WHy not director's takes?
@discounteggroll: @Curves: Count me in on that too, all we need is around 50,000 people to throw in 10 bucks (might take awhile to get to drive it), or 500 people to throw in a 1000!
Going to have to say I liked Batman Begins more, but I still love the original!
@graffiksguru:
Or a few people to help steal it once.
There was a guy that lived here in Houston somewhere that took an old Stingray and put bat wings and a jet looking thing on the hood. It looked ok, but not authentic. He'd always cruise it through the Starbucks drive-through on the weekends.
@frigg: As much as I hate stereotypes, I'm guessing the person who buys this will likely have a closer resemblance to the Jeff Albertson.
And will subsequently sell it because he can't fit through the hatch..
@defn: They removed the jet engine from the one they gave away on MTV back in whatever year that was in order to make it street legal. I dunno if they did that with all of them.
@phelander: Yeah, both were good.
All that really matters is that we all agree that the middle ones ("Batman Forever" and "Batman and Robin") should be wiped out of our collective memories. Along with armaggeddon. Yeeeccchhhh!
@ideaman2020: Jeff Albertson... that's who Steven Smith reminds me of... or vice versa? [gizmodo.com]
But sadly, I'm compelled to agree: the person who would most want to drive this thing is the person I would least want to see driving it.
@frigg: By that, you mean anyone not Batman, right?
Historically, Batmobiles have always been cursed by changing hands so frequently. Everyone wants the Batmobile but no one seems to want to keep the Batmobile. I don't think it should be something up for the highest bidder. So many great movie props become artifacts in themselves and should be donated to museums dedicated to educating history in films.
Breaks my heart every time I see a Batmobile on the open market.
Weapons included ???? count me in
The dumbass has a picture of his house along with it.
I bet a giz reader or two could track it down like psystar... and then the Batmobile is all mine for a small finder's fee.
@TruPhan: Let's just say I have it on a pretty good source that when no one's watching, Batman drives a Prius.