The Batmobile is the automobile of DC Comics superhero Batman. The car has evolved along with the character from comic books to television and films.[1] Kept in the Batcave, which it accesses through a hidden entrance, the Batmobile is a gadget-laden vehicle used by Batman in his crime-fighting activities.
The Batmobile built for and used in the 1966–1968 live action television show and its film adaptation was a customized vehicle that originated as a one-off Ford concept car of the 1950s.
The TV Batmobile was based on the Lincoln Futura Show Car, originally created by William M. Schmidt and his design team at the Lincoln Styling Department; in late 1965 20th Century Fox Television and Greenway Productions contracted renowned Hollywood car customizer George Barris to design and build a "Batmobile" for their upcoming Batman TV series.Technical specifications
- Curb weight: 5500 lb
- Wheelbase: 129 in
- Length: 230 in
- Width: 90 in
- Height: 48 in
- Fins: 84 in
- Engine: 390 in³, V-8 (atomic turbine)
- Transmission: B&M Hydro Automatic (2nd transmission)
Features
This Batmobile's gadgets include a nose-mounted aluminium chain slicer, lasers, rockets, an on-board telephone, radar, dash monitor, on-board computer, and police beacon. If needed, the Batmobile is capable of a quick 180° "bat-turn" thanks to two rear-mounted ten-foot parachutes, and it is equipped with a smoke emitter and a nail spreader to discourage pursuit. Some changes were made during the run of the series, including different license plates, a change in steering wheel, and the addition of extra gadgets such as the rear-facing camera and battering ram.[13] Other devices included[14]:
- Emergency Bat-turn Lever (releases the Batmobile's parachute that enables quick turns)
- Bat-ray (can do many things, such as open van doors)
- Automatic Fire Extinguisher
- Mobile Batcomputer
- Bat Beam
- Emergency Tire Inflator
- Bat Smoke Screen
- Bat-tering Ram (also known as the Bat-ram, used for knocking down reinforced doors)
- Voice Control Batmobile Relay Unit
- Bat-photoscope (works in conjunction with the Microfilm Crime File back in the Batcave. Through this device a photo from the crime file can be reproduced in the Batmobile.)
- Batphone
- Police Band Cut-In Switch
- Mobile Tracking Scope
- Cup holder
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