Autoblog

Click above for gallery of the Batmobile

The Michael Keaton/Jack Nicholson Batman is and probably always will be my all-time favorite movie, and the ostentatious Batmobile was one of my most cherished Hot Wheels. Owning the flat-black exotic has always been a less than realistic goal, but thanks to eBay, someone will have that chance. If you like the Batmobile as much as I do, and unlike me have at least $500,000, you can actually purchase the Dark Knight's superhero-mobile on eBay.

The Batmobile on auction is number five of five, and with only 54 miles on the odometer, it is one rare bird indeed. It has no doors, and the only way to get behind the wheel is to jump in through the roof. The 20-foot long Batmobile hides a 5.7L Chevy small-block under-hood that hasn't been driven in five years, and judging from the pics on eBay, it's an automatic, too. It does make sense for Batman to fore-go manual shifts, since he needed to use his free hand to fire 50-caliber machine guns. Somehow we have the feeling that heavy artillery isn't included in the auction, but at least you can look like your car can blow things up. Nobody has bid on the item yet, and at 500-large we're guessing this auction has a chance of reappearing soon at a lower starting price. Thanks for the tip, Steve!


[Source: eBay]

Click above to view video

We all remember the Lamborghini Murcielago's cameo in Batman Begins, right? Well apparently producers think that Lamborghinis make good supporting actors, because a Lamborghini has once again been cast in the upcoming sequel called The Dark Knight. Though Batman himself will still pilot the Tumbler through the streets of Gotham while fighting the Joker, his public persona, Bruce Wayne, will be seen rolling in a Raging Bull that can reportedly do some major damage, as well. Winding Road found this video from MTV.com that reveals what the car looks like as a toy, but we'll be seeing the real thing in person this Thursday when it debuts at the East Side House Settlement Gala Preview for the 2008 New York Auto Show, which happens to be sponsored by Lamborghini. Though tickets for the gala start at $150 for just cocktails and $1,000 for dinner (it's all for charity, folks), we'll do our best to crash the party and get live pics of Bruce Wayne's other car.

Also of note is that Lamborghini will be auctioning off the very first 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 to be sold in the U.S. at the gala. We'll try to keep our hands down during that part of the evening's festivities.

[Source: MTV.com via Winding Road]

After enduring a long and arduous week of never-ending KITT coverage, it's time to turn our focus to something that has the distinct possibility of not sucking – The Dark Knight. Batman Begins proved that comic book-based movies can actually be entertaining, not causing excessive eye-rolling and extraneous cringing. Plus, it didn't hurt that our female friends could sit through the flick and enjoy the machismo provided by Christian Bale.

Over the weekend, a few shoddy videos of the full, two-minute trailer for The Dark Knight began to surface, so Warner Bros. decided to release the trailer in downloadable form for the masses. Naturally, we've got it up and hosted on YouTube and you can check it out in full after the jump.

Needless to say, it looks damn good. Heath Ledger's Joker will give Nicholson a run for his money, the man in black gets a new two-wheeled conveyance and who can deny burnouts in the Tumbler? Batman returns in the summer of '08, but you can get your fix by clicking here.

Click the image above for a high-res pic.

Since the automotive acid trip that is the Speed Racer trailer left us shaking our heads, there's not much left for us to look forward to on the big screen. Thankfully, Warner Bros. is rectifying the matter with what we're hoping will be the most badass Batman flick to date: the Dark Knight. The Joker's back, and as we've seen already, he doesn't stand a chance.

This newest shot released by the film house shows the man in black taking his Batpod for a spin and naturally, we've got a high-res pic for your desktop enjoyment below. The return continues on July 18th next year and you can sate your thirst for details by checking the Wikipedia page and Cinematical in the meantime.

[Sources: Cinematical, Wikipedia, Slashfilm]

Our friends over at Hemmings who follow the auction scene like crack-addled chipmunks came across the mobile bane of the Batman franchise. The Batman Forever iteration of the Batmobile is one of the worst ever devised. Universally panned along with the film in which it appeared, it was forced to do sit-com work after it was retired, appearing on The Drew Carey Show (some say the Batmobile's appearance on the show was when it officially jumped the shark). The car was recently up for auction with no reserve and sold for $297,000, less than half its estimated worth. Aside from being an abomination and afront to Bruce Wayne groupies everywhere, the car sold so low because it came with many conditions set by Warner Bros. and DC Comics, including one barring the owner from driving the car in view of the public! This car's a runner too, with a small-block Chevy V8 that can whisk it away from laughing crowds at super hero speeds. But its new owner will apparently never get the chance to be laughed at in public, because doing so would mean driving the car in public, and that would violate the contract he (or she) signed. On second thought, perhaps Warner Bros. and DC Comics was doing this guy a favor.

Check out the Batmobile's appearance on The Drew Carey Show after the jump.

[Source: Hemmings]

Tragedy struck off the set of the new Batman film, The Dark Knight, on Monday when a camera van collided with a tree killing one of the occupants. The crash took place during what's being described as a "filming production exercise" where the Batmobile was being followed by an SUV while on a test track in Longcross.

While it's unclear as to why the vehicle lost control, an investigation is currently underway by the Surrey Police and the Health and Safety Executive.

Warner Bros., the production company behind the new Batman flick, released a statement regarding the crash, which you can read excerpts of by following the "Read" link below.

Thanks for the tip, Sparky.

[Source: BBC News]

UPDATE: Turns out we were tipped on the MKS spy shots, as well. Thanks to Jarrett A. for sending in the pics!


A friend who's friends with our friends over at Jalopnik sent in spy shots of the new Lincoln MKS while it was on set apparently making a cameo appearance in the new Batman movie. These shots don't get any clearer, with the front fascia, back end and everything in between fully exposed for the gawking.

The front end is significantly toned-down from the concept version that made its debut earlier in the year, but it still holds onto many of the elements that made the MKR a success. Out back, it is a bit bland, but it's clean and elegant – exactly what we'd expect from Lincoln.

The MKS is set to be unveiled sometime next year, with sales likely to begin in the latter half of '08.

Most fans of the Dark Knight appreciated the overall tone of the latest film to feature Bruce Wayne and his alter ego, Batman. The emphasis on Wayne's transformation into the Caped Crusader gave Batman Begins a psychological edge and complexity that... oh, who am I kidding? It was the Tumbler that we all loved. Typically outrageous without being overly cartoonish, it was a reconfigurable warship on wheels. With a follow-up film on its way, it was inevitable that rumors about the newest Batmobile would eventually surface.

BB 2 will take the series further back to its roots by featuring one of Batman's greatest archenemies, The Joker (here's his pretty pathetic set of wheels). It will also, apparently, bring back another iconic Bat vehicle: the Batcycle. Actually it is called the Batpod and, thanks to Gizmodo, we have a couple of pics of this new Batride to share. Our first reaction was that it looks like half of the Tumbler, minus the bodywork with the same chunky tires and mutating layout. The Batpod also features huge cannons up front and no immediately identifiable engine. Speculation suggests wheel-mounted electric motors. It's definitely intimidating, although we're not sure how those wheels will affect its driveability. Some have also noted its resemblance to the Tomahawk, minus the Viper V10. Where that Chrysler show bike is pure muscle, this thing looks more military.

We'll get to see more of the Batpod when The Dark Knight rolls into theaters next summer. Or as soon as more pics surface.

One more pic after the jump.

[Source: Gizmodo]

The Model A Ford pickup you see above will play the Joker's Clown Car in the upcoming Batman sequel, The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger will play the Joker to Christian Bale's Batman (who gets a new suit, incidentally), but he unfortunately gets stuck with this very unimpressive (and very purple) truck that has no chance of outrunning the Tumbler. In fact, the Tumbler could likely slice this truck in two if Batman were to t-bone the Joker in an intersection. It also turns out that illustrator Chris Ring was way off the mark when he paired the Joker with a 1974 Ford Mustang II in his Comics and Costume Sketchbook we told you about last week.

[Source: Filmwad via Digg]

Oh crap! We just realized this Sunday is Father's Day and we don't have a gift for dear old Dad. Again. Never fear! Autoblog's staffers been in this spot before, so just follow our lead. Oh, and we're gonna assume that if you're car-crazed enough to be looking for gift ideas here, then your pops probably likes cars too.

Homemade tire tread wallet - $0
The folks at Make Magazine are like all journalists who love their dads. Broke. So they offer this guide from Instructables on how to make your dad his very own wallet from a bike tire, though you could probably substitute any tire with some ingenuity. Now how cool is that? They even show you how to install a "drop alarm" on the wallet in case it falls out of your dad's pocket. Or if, we're guessing, he throws it away and you want to fish it out of the trash. Just like that tie rack you made him in seventh grade. If he's not a car guy (what?!), there are also instructions for wallets made of duct tape, or a computer keyboard or an Altoids tin.

However, if you have a few dollars to spend, check the jump for some great Father's Day gift ideas before it's too late.