{"id":27588,"date":"2023-06-22T13:15:15","date_gmt":"2023-06-22T13:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/?p=27588"},"modified":"2023-07-12T10:22:18","modified_gmt":"2023-07-12T10:22:18","slug":"emlaus23_batpod-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propstore.com\/blog\/emlaus23_batpod-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Knight’s Rides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We get under the hood of Christopher Nolan\u2019s remarkable Bat-vehicles<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Christian Bale – The Dark Knight Rises
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Unlike Superman or Wonder Woman, Batman can\u2019t fly. Unlike the Flash, he can\u2019t run to a crime scene in less than a second. His only superpower, as the joke in the Justice League<\/em> movie goes, is that he\u2019s rich. So it makes sense that, over the years, Bruce Wayne\u2019s megabucks should have been lavished on a wide variety of response-time-reducing chiropteran vehicles, from 1966\u2019s fin-tastic Adam West Batmobile (based on the never-produced Lincoln Futura Concept) to the roaring, red-bathed muscle car that Robert Pattinson drove in last year\u2019s The Batman<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, nothing in Bat-history has come close to the sheer tarmac-tearing coolness of the Batpod in Christopher Nolan\u2019s 2008 masterpiece The Dark Knight<\/em>, a two-wheeled beast that emerged from the wreckage of his tank-like Tumbler, thundered through the streets of Gotham (actually Chicago\u2019s actual streets), caused a semi-truck to flip trailer-over-cab, and played chicken with Heath Ledger\u2019s Joker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Dark Knight (2008) – The Batpod emerges from the Tumbler
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Batpod represents the peak of an era in the franchise that\u2019s worth examining. An era nestled between that ridiculous single-seated thing in 1997\u2019s Batman and Robin<\/em> and Batman V Superman<\/em>\u2019s Mad Max-esque wheels in 2016. An era when functionality and form went hand in hand. Nolan asked a question that no other filmmaker had previously considered: what would Batman\u2019s vehicles look like if he could build them for real<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)\/THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
Batman’s (Christian Bale) Batpod<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Batman Begins (2005): Tumbler Time<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Batman Begins (2005)
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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When first taking on the task of reviving Batman as a cinematic franchise, Nolan decided that before conceptualising anything else for the film, he and production designer Nathan Crowley should first nail the Batmobile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI felt it was very important to design the Batmobile first,\u201d the director said in 2005. \u201cI had a very specific idea in my head about a contemporary approach to a Batmobile, and our approach to it would tell everybody about our approach to the whole film, which is a more grounded reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Batman Begins (2005) Batmobile stunt
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Flashback Film Making<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The pair of them spent weeks model bashing, iterating and evolving their design from a Play-Doh model that Nolan had sculpted (which \u201clooked like a croissant\u201d he joked) into the slick but sturdy blend of Humvee, Lamborghini and stealth bomber that barrelled onto our screens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constructed in England by a team overseen by special-effects maestro Chris Corbould, the resulting \u201cTumbler\u201d Batmobile was a real car that could actually be driven. \u201cI want this to be a mean machine. I want this to perform<\/em>,\u201d Corbould recalled Nolan instructing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Batman Begins (2005)
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fifteen-feet long, nine-foot-four wide and weighing 2.5 tonnes, the Tumbler really is a monster of a vehicle, made even more complicated for its creators by the fact that it has no front axle. However, its two independent front wheels did help it manoeuvre on the roads, especially while turning. Featuring a jet-powered engine, with aerofoils to improve velocity, it was also a car impressive capable of surviving a stunt jump, unlike most regular vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Batman Begins (2005) Batmobile entering the Batcave
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Flashback Film Making<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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It certainly met Nolan\u2019s brief for \u201ca contemporary approach,\u201d and he couldn\u2019t quite believe how close it looked to his and Crowley\u2019s final design. \u201cThey were so faithful to our original kit-bash,\u201d he marvelled. \u201cIt was a strange thing to look at.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Batman Begins (2005)
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Dark Knight (2008): Enter the Batpod<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Dark Knight (2008)
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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On returning to Gotham, Nolan knew he could not simply bring back the Tumbler, and together with Crowley, designed a sleeker, more nimble alternative mode of transport for Christian Bale\u2019s Dark Knight. Just like the first film\u2019s Batmobile, this fresh take on the \u2018Batcycle\u2019 had to be built for real, and ridden for real, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)\/THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
Batman’s (Christian Bale) Batpod<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Building it for real turned out to be the simpler task, relatively speaking. Once again, Corbould\u2019s team rose to the challenge, constructing the Batpod around a Honda 750 engine, and giving it massive 31\u201d Hoosier racing tyres, which obviously had to match the Tumbler\u2019s for girth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Dark Knight (2008)
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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However, getting someone to pilot it effectively was a whole different challenge. \u201cWe don\u2019t call it a bike because it doesn\u2019t behave anything like a bike,\u201d said Corbould during production in 2007. \u201cThe Batpod is in some ways more difficult than the Batmobile because it is very difficult to ride. Initially it was fairly easy to come off it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)\/THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
Batman’s (Christian Bale) Batpod<\/strong><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Fortunately, stunt rider Jean-Pierre Goy, who Corbould had worked with a few times previously, was able to master this beast. \u201cYou have to get it out of your mind that you\u2019re riding a bike,\u201d explained Corbould. \u201cWe had other people who tried to ride it and just didn\u2019t get on with it, whereas Jean-Pierre \u2013 who, if not the greatest bike rider in the world, is one of the best \u2013 totally got in the right mindset and said, \u2018Right, I\u2019m not riding another bike until I\u2019ve finished this.\u2019 And that\u2019s what he did. He concentrated on riding this machine with unique handling qualities. I\u2019d be lying to say it was easy to ride, but it looks spectacular when it is being ridden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Dark Knight (2008) stuntman Jean-Pierre Goy
<\/strong>Image courtesy of TIME<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Dark Knight Rises (2012): The Bat takes wing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Warner Bros<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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By the Nolan-Batman\u2019s third and final outing, the only way was up. But it wasn\u2019t enough to have the Dark Knight pilot a helicopter (as he does in the 1966 Batman<\/em>), or even a high-tech jet (as he does in the 1989 Batman<\/em>). This flying Bat-vehicle had to be something entirely new<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Gizmodo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe took the approach that this would be a credible military project,\u201d said Crowley in 2012. \u201cFrom a design standpoint, the most important thing was that The Bat fit into the same family as our Batmobile.\u201d Large, black and imposing, it certainly does that, blending elements from the Harrier jump jet with the Boeing V-22 Osprey and AH-65 Apache helicopters. Nolan conceived it, he said, as \u201ca double-bladed chopper, where the rotors are configured underneath the vehicle and the air is channelled down through the vents above.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
<\/strong>Image courtesy of Gizmodo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The final vehicle was 30 feet long, 17 feet wide and weighed around 3,000 pounds, with working rotors, flaps and lights. But unlike the Tumbler and the Batpod, it didn\u2019t work for real. Of course, Nolan being Nolan, it was not an option to rely on CGI to make his hefty Bat fly. So Corbould had to employ \u201ca variety of different methodologies,\u201d he explained, including supporting the vehicle on wires, running it along high lines, suspending it from cranes and helicopters, and mounting it on a hydraulic-platform vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
<\/strong>Image courtesy of TIME<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The results were certainly impressive. To quote Morgan Freeman\u2019s Lucius Fox in the film, \u201cNothing like a little air superiority\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Join us on June 28 \u2013 30, 2023 when the lots will begin to close in our three day live auction<\/strong>. And remember to get those bids in early if you want a shot at picking up some incredible pieces of entertainment history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out the full catalog here<\/a> now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For all the latest from Propstore, including upcoming auctions and Buy now exclusives<\/a>, follow us on Instagram<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and now TikTok<\/a>! For our full archive of past and current sales, head over to propstore.com<\/a> now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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