Hot Wheels reveals radio controlled Batmobile from forthcoming movie The Batman
Batman is still the good guy, right?
HOT WHEELS has revealed its latest radio-controlled car, a 1/10 scale replica of the all-new Batmobile. The real version will appear in The Batman, a new film in the franchise starring Robert Pattinson as Gotham City’s Caped Crusader, scheduled to hit cinemas in March 2022.
The film is a reboot of the Batman franchise, and the Batmobile has been given a major revamp compared with its predecessors.
Gone are the massive fins and excess bodywork of the 1960s and 1990s vehicles, while the military-style Tumbler from the last series of films has been ditched, too. Instead, producers have turned the Batmobile into a machine that’s reminiscent of a 1970s muscle car.
The two-door body looks like a stylised Dodge Charger but with bat-style curves to the bodywork and a raised ride height to make space for oversized balloon tyres and substantial wheels.
Up front is a thick bumper for battering through roadblocks with slender LED headlights above that, while the rear end features open bodywork like an off-road stadium truck.
This leaves the mid-mounted engine exposed, and the film car looks like it’s powered by a substantial twin-turbocharged V8, but there’s also a nod to tradition, with a jet engine exhaust poking out the rear.
Hot Wheels’ version of the Batmobile, which measures around 50cm long, doesn’t have internal combustion and instead relies on an electric motor and a battery to drive the rear wheels.
The top speed is claimed to be 13-15mph, while a three-hour charge delivers 25 minutes of crime-fighting vigilante action. The car is controlled with a full function pistol-grip handset with a wheel handling steering.
There are flame and smoke effects from the central exhaust, full suspension to soak up bumps from Gotham’s crime-ridden streets and lots of details from the film car have been replicated.
A 6in tall Batman figure is included, too, and when you sit him at the wheel — behind the illuminated dashboard — The Dark Knight steers and shifts gears in sync with the car’s movements.
When finished with cleaning up the streets of Gotham, Hot Wheels RC’s Batmobile comes with a special diorama where the model can be parked. While not a complete Bat Cave, the stand features a bank of computer screens and keyboards that are illuminated, while a Bat Signal projector light is also included.
Hot Wheels has launched pre-orders for the RC Batmobile now, but it won’t be delivered until July 2022 at the earliest. It’s more of a scale model than a toy, and is being branded as such, because it’s ‘for the adult collector and fan’. As a result, if you order the Batmobile direct from the Mattel Creations store, it’ll cost you $500, or about £360 before taxes.
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Can’t get hold of the Hot Wheels R/C Batmobile? Try this one for £60 at Argos or this one for £20 at Hamleys. Driving.co.uk may earn a small fee if you make a purchase after following the links.
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