<![CDATA[io9: Batmobile]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/io9.com.png <![CDATA[io9: Batmobile]]> http://io9.com/tag/batmobile http://io9.com/tag/batmobile <![CDATA[ Fan-Made Batmobile is Ready for the Gotham Streets ]]> When Batman Begins introduced the movie-going world to the Tumbler Batmobile, many an auto aficionado lusted after Batman’s ride. One fan, though, decided lusting wasn’t enough, and has been building his very own working Batmobile, complete with a V8 engine and Batcessories, in his garage. More pictures after the jump.

Posting on the SuperHeroHype forums as “youngbat,” he been constructing a working Batmobile from reference photos he’s found online. He estimates that, when complete, the car will have cost him $50-70,000 in parts and insists he has no intention of selling it. He has also made a Batsuit and Batbelt so his neighbors can get the full effect of living next door to Batman. Once the Batmobile is complete, he plans on adding a Batpod to his collection.

My Tumbler progress [SuperHeroHype via TechEBlog]

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io9-5068532 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:00:00 PDT Lauren Davis http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5068532&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ First Look At New Batmobile ]]> KITT should run for cover. The new Batmobile, which debuts in next week's Batman #676, looks totally amazing and guaranteed to put the "cowardly and superstitious" into any fleeing criminal scumbags. Too bad it's appearing in the first issue of a storyline called "Batman R.I.P." — but at least Bats is going out in a sweet ride. [MySpace, via Newsarama]

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io9-389099 Fri, 09 May 2008 12:06:00 PDT Charlie Jane Anders http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=389099&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ What's The Fastest SciFi Super-Car? ]]> Flying cars are dime-a-dozen in science fiction. But they don't all look as cool as Harrison Ford's cop car does in Sid Mead's original concept art. And some of them have cool extras, like voice-controlled color or a built-in ATM . But what you really want to know is, what's the fastest super-car in scifi? We rank them by speed (with a gallery) below.



The Batmobile from Batman Begins. This was the first on-screen version of Batman's muscle car that didn't just look like a cheesy toy car. Instead of the stretched-out roadster of previous movies, director Christopher Nolan opted for a compact, tank-like design. In "attack mode" the driver shifts to the middle of the car, in a more secure prone position. This car doesn't look like it's only designed to impress Kim Basinger.
Top speed: 110 mph, plus jet engine and adjustable control surfaces let it jump 30 feet without a ramp.

The DeLorean from the Back To The Future movies. This car's main superpower is making those movies look incredibly dated. But it also travels in time if you feed it enough plutonium. And after a visit to the year 2015, it also gains the ability to fly, with wheels that turn sideways and become thrusters.
Top speed: A regular DeLorean could reach 124 mph. It needs to reach 88 mph to time-travel.

The flying taxi from The Fifth Element. It looks just like a regular cab, but it can fly. It handles amazingly well, judging from some of the teeny openings Bruce Willis manages to steer it through during the high-speed cop chase. And it can stop on a dime to hide behind billboards.
Top speed: Unclear, but it's fast. The original movie script says: "Korben and his flying taxi are absolute masters of the air. The cops have trouble following him."

The self-folding car from that SciFi Channel ad. Long after people have forgotten Flash Gordon and Tin Man, they'll still be passing around this ad. It looks like a regular pick-up truck, until the driver presses a button. Then it folds up to the size (and weight) of a golf ball.
Top speed: no clue.

The Whomobile on Doctor Who. Stranded on Earth in the early 1970s, the Doctor started dressing like Prince. Except instead of driving a little red Corvette, he pimped out an antique roadster named Bessie to go super fast. Then he built his own spaceship-looking car. With huge honking fins! Because, of course, an alien trapped on Earth has to stay incognito at all costs.
Top speed: 150 mph (in real life), plus the Whomobile can fly (using dodgy greenscreen.)

The Spinner from Blade Runner. Deckard's cop car flies, but also has vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). It uses regular internal combustion, plus antigrav and a jet engine. It also directs air downwards to create lift. And it has a pretty sweet glass cockpit.
Top speed: Deckard mentions a fellow cop was going 150 mph when he went off a cliff.

KITT, from the Knight Rider TV show and TV movies. KITT was a Pontiac Trans AM with a super-computer that could talk to Michael (its driver) and even drive itself. (Plus KITT prints money in one episode, which could be handy.) The new Knight Rider, airing in February, will feature a new KITT that can launch a mini-car drone and fire a rocket launcher
Top speed: 300 mph, plus a "turbo boost" lets you jump over obstacles.

The Lexus from Minority Report. Lexus designed a special flying car for Tom Cruise to zip around the city of 2054 in. The car includes an electric engine, body panels that change color at a voice command, doors and ignition that require a DNA match, and "auto valet."
Top speed: According to Lexus, this car can get up to about 350 mph. We have a winner!

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io9-339319 Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:20:23 PST charliejane http://io9.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=339319&view=rss&microfeed=true