There have been more Batman movies than I can count and several different actors behind the cowl, but there’s only one Batmobile if you ask me. Bats’ car from the 1989 movie Batman is the only valid Batmobile and I’ll argue with anyone who says otherwise. As much as I love The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan’s Batmobile was just a tank painted black. The 1989 car looked the way a Batmobile should and it had the most movie presence with its obnoxiously long hood and jet turbine front end. And, if you own a C4 Corvette, you can roll around town like Michael Keaton’s Caped Crusader with this surprisingly accurate fiberglass replica currently up for grabs on eBay with no reserve.
The listing doesn’t say anything about who built this kit but it looks as movie-accurate as it needs to. Only the most die-hard Batman fans can spot any inaccuracies it might have. It still requires some modification, though, as there are spots for the two massive side intakes to be cut out, spots for the taillights to be cut out, and a massive opening for the front fan. While the fan isn’t there, the seller says they have the kit for it, even if they don’t specify whether it’s included in the price.
Batmobile replicas have been around ever since Adam West’s Lincoln Futura-based ride hit the small screen in the 1960s, all of which were designed to fit over the chassis of different cars. This one is made to fit a C4 Corvette donor car, something the seller also claims to have. A C4 ‘Vette is a good donor car since it isn’t hard to find one for cheap, and it can house several different small-block V8s for increased modification. A C4-based Batmobile is also surprisingly accurate to the original, and even sportier, since Burton’s Bat Car was built on two Chevy Impala chassis spliced together. Additionally, the original was powered by a 327-cubic-inch small block Chevy V8, with some jet turbine components used for the front fan.
According to the seller, nicely finished Batmobile replicas can sell for $500,000, which seems dubious. A Mustang-based Batmobile in stunning condition sold at a Bonhams auction for $132,533 in the UK in 2023. For reference, 10 custom-designed Tumbler Batmobiles from The Dark Knight, licensed by Warner Bros. themselves, are selling for $2.99 million. What’s the difference between those and this eBay replica? They’re not made of fiberglass, and this one’s high bid is just $10,000 at the time of publishing.
Regardless of how much it could be worth, this can be an incredibly fun and relatively inexpensive project car for Batman fans. Too bad my wife already said no.
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