Each new batmobile is a fresh take on Bruce Wayne’s crime-busting ride. For 2022’s The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, the batmobile began life as a 1968-1970 Dodge Charger teenage Bruce Wayne drove in underground street races. When Wayne became a masked vigilante he weaponized his old muscle car. To film the movie, director Matt Reeves had three stunt cars built with V8s and one with a Tesla drivetrain.
What kind of car is the new Batmobile?
The new batmobile featured in the 2022 film began life as a 1968-70 Dodge Charger. Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne used it as a street-racing car before modifying it to help him fight crime.
Batmobile from 2022’s The Batman | Warner Bros via Matt Reeves’ Twitter
The prequel to 2022’s The Batman film is actually a book. Before the Batman: An Original Movie Novel is the origin story of Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne/Batman. The young orphan fixed up an old muscle car himself, won some illegal street races, then modified his car to go even faster.
After The Riddler’s sabotage nearly killed one of Wayne’s competitors during a race, the young billionaire turned to fighting crime. He modified his old race car with armor, weapons, and an afterburner to help him chase down criminals.
By The Batman film, this batmobile features huge tires, lifted suspension, a rear-mounted V10 engine, and swooping fender flares. This homemade widebody kit gives it wings like a Corvette stringray–or a bat. But underneath all the modifications, the car still has the roofline and windows of a 1968-70 Dodge Charger.
What is the new batmobile engine?
In the 2022 Batman film, Bruce Wayne has removed his Dodge Charger batmobile’s rear window and trunk to install a massive rear engine. This is a Ford Triton V10 with a series of turbochargers and an afterburner on its exhaust.
Batmobile from 2022’s The Batman | Warner Bros via Matt Reeves’ Twitter
It seems obvious that this rear engine drives the huge Charger’s rear wheels through some form of transaxle. The setup may be intended to improve the big car’s weight distribution, and it also looks tough as nails.
The Charger batmobile is reminiscent of the mid-engine Dodge Charger featured in Fast and Furious 9. Its not surprising that The Batman‘s picture car team includes Fast and Furious 9 alums: Nico Ferrari, Nick Murray, and Lil Gwynne-Thomas.
Bruce Wayne’s Dodge Charger did not start life as a rear-engine car. Top-of-the-line factory engines available in this car included the 426 HEMI V8 engineered for NASCAR, or the lower-compression, higher-displacement 440 HEMI V8 which is sought after by hot rodders.
The 2022 batmobile still features side-exit exhaust pipes just in front of the doors and some kind of high-tech hood scoop. These modifications would all help a front-mounted engine breathe. Does this batmobile have two engines? We’ll just have to watch the movie to find out.
What kind of car is the 2022 batmobile?
Director Matt Reeves commissioned four stunt cars built from second-generation Dodge Chargers for 2022’s The Batman. Traditional V8 engines power three of the stunt cars while one has a Tesla drivetrain.
Batmobile from 2022’s The Batman | Warner Bros via Matt Reeves’ Twitter
For the launch of 2022’s The Batman, Warner Bros held a screening at one of the batcave filming locations. They turned the studio into a sort of museum, complete with props, costumes, and vehicles used in the movie.
A private supercar collector with a youtube channel called “Rana65556” attended the premier and did a walkaround of the new Batmobile. His video is one of the closest looks yet of the new car. Best of all, someone from the film crew gives him the technical details of the stunt vehicle.
The crew member, perhaps Nico Ferrari or Nick Murray, explains that director Matt Reeves had four stunt cars built for the vehicle. Three–including the batmobile at the premiere–were built around “650 brake horsepower V8.”
One of these later had its engine removed “for gimbal rig work.” This means an arm was attached the vehicle with a camera for panning shots of the vehicle and/or its occupants.
The fourth and final batmobile featured a Tesla drivetrain. Why an electric-convered muscle car batmobile? The crew member revealed they built a batmobile EV, “so it was quiet: they could use it on stage, they could use it for night work.”
You can read about Batman’s street-racing past or see the video of the batmobile at the premiere below:
See more videos of the new Batmobile on display:
Keyword: The New Batmobile Stunt Car Is a Tesla-Powered 1968-70 Dodge Charger