Batmobile replicas are a dime a dozen so, unless we’re talking about genuine movie memorabilia, it’s rare to come across a very good one. This is one of those cases: a 2016 replica of the 1989 Batmobile from Tim Burton’s movies.
The Batmobile has seen many iterations over the years, and each and every one of them is iconic in the eyes of different fans. Tim Burton’s, also known as the Keaton Mobile, since Michael Keaton played the Dark Knight, is often referred to as the most influential Batmobile. Building a convincing replica of it is no small feat.
One specialist company in the UK did a pretty good job with it. Based on a 1965 Ford Mustang instead of the Chevrolet Impala used in the movies, this 2016 replica was recently listed with Bonhams. It had been on display at the London Motor Museum in Hillingdon, which shut down, so the plan was for it to go under the hammer. The auction house estimated it could sell for anything between £20,000 and £30,000 ($27,570 and $41,356 at the current exchange rate), but it was withdrawn before the big event.
Still, Mike Fernie from DriveTribe was granted the chance to test drive it. Any living person slash car enthusiast would love the chance to jump in the cockpit of such a unique built, but for a Batman fan, it would be a very, very special occasion. Same for Mike—you can see his reaction in the video at the bottom of the page.
Powered by a 5.7-liter Chevrolet V8 engine developing 380 hp, this Batmobile is powerful and loud, thanks in part to the lightweight carbon fiber body. That said, Mike discovers it’s also difficult to drive because of poor visibility (it was built for a very tall Batman, Mike concludes), handling on corners (at 23 feet/7 meters, it doesn’t exactly stand out for agility), and most importantly, ridiculously bad brakes. With a V8 under the hood, you’d expect it to brake safely, but it doesn’t, which, for Mike, makes it a very “terrifying” car.
Still, his conclusion is that he would never regret his decision to take it out. “Is it easy to drive? No. Is it fun to drive? F**k yes,” Mike says at the end of the video.
Bonhams does not say why the Batmobile has been withdrawn from auction, but here’s hoping it already has an owner with more cojones than sense to take it out once in a blue moon. Because, yes, this thing is road legal.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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