What Wikipedia Says about the Batmobile

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.
Batman first drove in Detective Comics #27 (May, 1939). A sedan, the vehicle was simply referred to as "his car". It soon began featuring an increasingly prominent bat motif, typically including distinctive wing-shaped tailfins. In the early stages of Batman's career, he modified it with armor and technologically-advanced automotive customization and turned the Batmobile into a sleek street machine. The Batmobile has gone through numerous incarnations, and as state-of-the-art technology has continued to advance, the vehicle has had to change to stay a step ahead of real-life cutting edge advances.

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 (so-called "atomic turbine")
• Transmission: B&M Hydro Automatic (2nd transmission)

Animation

Super Friends

Main article: Super Friends

The Batmobile as seen in the early episodes of Super Friends was based on the Lincoln Futura design as seen on the live-action TV series starring Adam West. The main difference with the Super Friends version was that the lines of the car were modified substantially for use in animation. The most obvious change was to the nose of the car, where the hood received a "V" depression that echoed the lower fascia. This was also the first Batmobile (of any medium) to feature yellow bat emblems on the doors. This particular feature would be quickly adapted by the comics.
Beginning with the Challenge of the Super Friends in 1978, the Batmobile got revamped. This new version was developed to have a more aerodynamic hard-edged style. In addition, this Batmobile was smaller than its predecessor. It contained a sloped nose and flying buttress B-pillars. Features that were carried over from the original Super Friends Batmobile were the Bat-mask, low horizontal fins, twin bubble windshields, and blue coloring scheme.
In 1984, Super Friends revamped its format (first as Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and then as The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians) to serve as a tie-in to Kenner's Super Powers Collection.

DC Animated Universe

Main article: DC Animated Universe

The Batmobile as seen in Batman: The Animated Series.

The Batmobile made appearances in the various series of the DC animated universe, including Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. The Batmobile in Batman: The Animated Series combined style elements from various eras to produce a long, low vehicle with square lines, long fins, and a blunt nose with a massive chrome grill that could have been from any time from the 1930s to the 1990s. This version of the Batmobile also vaguely resembled the Batmobile from the first two Tim Burton movies. Despite the obvious presence of the jet exhaust, the show frequently used sound effects from a reciprocating engine for the Batmobile's driving scenes. This, plus direct views of the engine (as seen in the episode "The Mechanic"), suggest that the car used a large piston engine for primary power and an auxiliary jet for high-speed acceleration. Among the features of the Batmobile of The Animated Series were: smoke and oil dispensers, wheel slasher hubs, a missile rack, tear gas dispensers, ejection seats, titanium alloy wheels and body panels, and reversible jet exhausts. It also had an armoured stationary mode to prevent people from tampering with the car when it was left unattended, though it was not as overt as the "shields" used in the 1989 movie Batmobile. The original Batmobile design had many design variants that are seen throughout other DCAU shows, the most notable examples being the Batmobile 'truck' seen in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Stolen Memories" and an aging Bruce Wayne's limosine, seen in Batman Beyond, which is referred to by the producers as 'an upside-down Batmobile'.
In The New Batman Adventures, the Batmobile was redesigned, with its jet engine being most notably absent (save one episode). This Batmobile design is re-used in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. In Batman Beyond, there was a flying car referred to as the Batmobile (in the show's future era, flying cars had become commonplace).

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