World’s Only Road-Legal 1989 Batmobile Is Awesome, Has a Story to Match

Batman’s vehicle of choice is equally popular with fans, be it the original ‘60s Batmobile, the 1989 Keaton Batmobile, or the newer, more aggressive Tumbler and the muscle-car-inspired monster of this year’s The Batman. No surprise, then, that replicas of these iconic Batmobiles exist, both from established shops and a handful of DC-approved companies, but also from fans, DYI-ers, and impersonators.

As awesome as some of these Batmobile replicas are, few can hold a candle to the one we’re going to talk about today.

This Batmobile, a replica of the 1989 movie car also known as the Keaton Batmobile or the Burton Batmobile (Michael Keaton being the actor to play the Dark Knight and Tim Burton the director to bring his story to life on the big screen), is not just DC-approved, but also the world’s only road-legal Batmobile and the world’s first twin-turbo ‘89 Batmobile. Both of these claims are not verified by an official body, but are backed by the legions of fans that support them.

This is the Batmobile of Zac Mihajlovic from New South Wales, Australia. Zac is a longtime Batman fan (who isn’t?!), a business owner, and a self-taught fabricator. He first made international headlines almost one decade ago, when news of his newly-registered Batmobile crossed borders and earned warm praise from Batman fans and car enthusiasts alike.

In reality, the Batmobile had been completed two years prior to that, in 2011. Zac got the idea for it from his grandfather John Greene, a retired engineer who kept telling him that whatever he dreamed could become true if he just applied himself. The 1989 Batman was the first film that Zac saw in a theater when he was about 5 years old, so he decided that the iconic Batmobile would be the right project to test his grandpa’s theory with.

In 2009, Zac came across a few items from the original movie Batmobile that were being auctioned off with an old Hollywood lot. They were spare parts that were never actually put on the car, but which had been acquired in case the car had been damaged during production and would have needed a quick fix – things like the rear batwings. Months later, Zac and his grandpa, with help from motorcycle builder Scotty Cox, started working on a replica that would integrate said parts. Everything else was built from scratch.

It would take them two years to complete the project, which started with getting in touch with DC Australia to see if they would be allowed to use the Batman name and likeness on a project of this scale. Surprisingly, DC Comics said ok. A rolling chassis was next, and it continued with fabricating the unique and instantly recognizable body of the Batmobile.

The result is a 6.2-meter (20.3-foot) car that’s almost identical to the movie version, except that it doesn’t have grappling hooks and machine guns, or throw bombs. What it does have, instead, is lateral mirrors, turning lights, and every modification necessary to have been registered for road use – a process that Zac repeatedly described as even more challenging, difficult, and time-consuming than the actual build. It also has a functional turbine and a working afterburner.

The Batmobile was fully registered by 2013, becoming what Zac believes to be the first Batmobile that is road-legal. Not that legality helps with it actually being drivable: the kind of attention it attracts is enough to discourage Zac from taking it out except for jobs, though he did dare to go grocery shopping with it twice. In the meantime, Zac and his team also built a matching Batbike from aluminum, though this one is hardly as famous as its four-wheel counterpart.

What takes this replica one cut above all the other replicas out there is the fact that it’s being used for good, much like Batman uses his. Zac, in full Batman gear designed for him on commission for the reported price of AUD$10,000 (US$6,743 at the current exchange rate), doesn’t have superpowers or super-tech, but he does have a heart of gold, so, even before the vehicle was registered, he’s been volunteering for Make-A-Wish, the charity that grants final wishes for children battling cancer. It’s the most heartbreaking and noble cause out there, and Zac says taking part in it beats every other thing he’s ever done with the Batmobile.

In recent years, the Batmobile has seen some upgrades thanks to Russo Performance and, obviously, Zac’s desire to change with the times – despite his previous statements that he would retire it to a garage soon. It’s been put on the back burner for the time being, while Zac and his team at Zacaria Supercars are working on The Zacaria, a Formula One car with a Ferrari engine that is, like its predecessor, perfectly road-legal.

The Batmobile replica doesn’t have a price tag, though Zac previously said that he was offered as much as AUD$1 million (US$680,000) for it and has entertained offers from people like sheiks in Dubai and local businessmen. At the time, though, he’d hardly had time to enjoy it, so he didn’t even think twice before saying no.

This Batman and his Batmobile might not fight crime like the original but fictional Dark Knight, and they might occasionally pop out for a wedding or an anniversary because he needs the money to pay for the high insurance and running costs, but their work is just as impressive. “I had the idea that we could use it as a tool to give back,” Zac once said. “I got that from him [my grandfather], that philanthropy is... rewarding to help out people.” This Batman  Zac is a rich man, indeed.

Here is the awesome Batmobile making a very special appearance in a very depressing Batman movie with a surprise twist. Batman is not Zac, but Joel Ozborn, who also directed the short film.