Batcave. Batcave. Batcaveee. Ever wonder where the site of the original Batcave is? I came across a video by Youtuber: Spa Guy that solves that riddle. According to the video the cave is located in Hollywood California, not far form the famous sign overlooking the city. Not a big surprise given most of the show was shot in the Hollywood area. After doing some research, I've discovered the cave is actually a man made tunnel. The Bronson Cave tunnel as it's refereed to now was dug by the Union Rock Company in the early 1900s. Despite it's appearance on screen, it's only about 50ft long and barely wide enough for a car. Clever use of props and camera angles gave viewers the illusion the cave was much bigger than it is. Looking at some of the pictures now. It's hard to imagine that the big honking Ford Futura made it through! I would have been a nervous George Barris, watching my creation squeeze it's way out. If you would like more information on how to get to the cave or the park check out Hikespeak. Sounds like a fun hike and adventure. See you next time, same bat channel, same bat time!
It's not everyday that someone can turn science fiction into reality. That's exactly what Casey Putsch of Putsch Racing in Dublin, Ohio did. When he merged a 1989 Batmobile replica with a turbine engine. Something that even Hollywood didn't attempt to do. Not only did he successfully merged the two, but it's functional. Not to mention street legal at that! Casey just 29 years of age is a 2005 graduate of Ohio State in fine arts, aspires to be a race car driver. However he isn't able to move forward without additional sponsorship. Looking to prove to the world his talent, Casey set out to build this car. How did he do it?
The power plant is a military spec jet turbine engine from drone helicopter built by Boeing. Casey self taught, rebuilt the engine and fabricated the parts to make it work in a car. What's even more amazing is the fact the car works just as normal street car. The power is transferred directly from the engine through a semi-automatic gear box to the rear wheels. What's it run on? According to the YouTube video it runs on kerosene, diesel, or jet fuel. Nice to know you can pull this thing in to just about any gas station and find something to run it on (minus the jet fuel). If you watch the videos closely notice Casey is wearing ear protection. This thing is loud!
Looking over the pictures and a YouTube video you can see how cleanly Casey put this package together. It all looks stock and straight-out of the movie. There are a lot of neat buttons to control the engine and other car functions. Including the guns that popup out of the fenders. There are a wealth of gauges to monitor engine stats. I would imagine the iPad may have some additional monitoring apps on it, plus something to take notes. If nothing else it looks really cool with the Wayne logo. Time to build was five months. I could imagine that being very intensive. Jet engines aren't exactly easy to work on.
Since construction was completed (June 2011) Casey has already won several awards at the very prestigious Ault Park Concours de Elegance in Cincinnati, Ohio. This car competed against some of the most valuable cars in history. An amazing story. Casey was very prompt and was happy to grant us permission to run this article. We wish the very best for Casey and Putsch Racing. We hope he get's to live his dream of being a driver. You sure have wowed us all. Readers see ya next time, same OnScreenCars.com time same OnScreenCars.com channel!
You're reading this correctly. The Batman Returns Batmobile is up for sale on eBay. While doing some research for the blog this morning, I came across this auction for the 1992 production car created and used in the film. The seller claims to be selling for a private owner. I remember seeing this car up for sale once before. I also remember as a kid seeing ads for a grand price give away for this same car. Man wouldn't it be sweet.
As of writing this article, current bid shows $150,000 with an unknown reserve not met. According to the seller's post the car originally cost Warner Brothers a cool 1.5 million dollars to produce. I could see a lot of that budget being sucked into the custom body shell. The car is built on an enlarged Impala frame with an overall wheel base of 140 inches, no year given. Under the hood is a 350 Small Block Chevrolet V8. It's got a B&M ratchet action shifter in the console for banging those auto gears while fleeing the scene. There's a removable steering wheel a must have, considering there are no doors just a top hatch. Looks like the dash is layout nicely like an aircraft cockpit. Mickey Thompson rubber on all four corners. I bet Michael Keaton had fun driving this one.
I'll keep my eye on this one and let you know if it sells. I'm not sure if it will. All depends on how high the reserve is and if there are any serious bidders out there. I did notice that the seller added a disclosure near the end saying that Warner Brothers reserves the right to approve of the future owner. I guess they don't just want anyone driving around in the Batmobile. See ya next time, same OnScreenCars.com time and same OnScreenCars.com channel Bat Guys and Bat Girls.
