Gordon Murray creates new-age Batmobile

Design wizard turns his energies to concocting the Caped Crusader's latest crime-fighting chariot

This is the modern-day interpretation of the Batmobile, as visualised by Gordon Murray – best known for penning the iconic 1990s McLaren F1 supercar and Formula 1 championship-winning Brabhams in the 1980s.

But it should be noted this creation is for the Batman Live arena show in the UK next month, and there's as yet no word on whether it will appear in any future Caped Crusader films.

Rather than using the vehicle from the last movie, the Batman Live show's organisers commissioned Murray to create the new-age Batmobile, and the design maestro's needle-nosed concoction incorporates (at least in theory) the latest high-tech materials and F1-derived aerodynamic expertise.

Murray allegedly derived inspiration from his childhood memories of Batman comics… and no doubt the George Barris-designed Batmobile that featured in the 1960s/70s TV show.

But unlike the Barris Batmobile, Murray's creation adopts a futuristic two-seater tandem design (with Batman and the Boy Wonder sitting line astern), while propulsion comes from a hydrogen fuel cell powering four 'virtual wheel' motors.

It's clothed in a breathable carbonfibre outer body skin that reduces drag, increases the car's speed and allows the Batmobile to “move silently about its business”, while other crime-fighting gear includes anti-detection transmitters and nose-mounted laser beams.

In a further flight of fantasy, the diode wheel spokes generate a directional anti-gravity forcefield that can propel the Batmobile while it levitates 40mm above terra firma and there are also hydrogen-fuelled afterburners for 'hyperspeed' cruising.

The car's profile and proportions bear a slight resemblance to Murray's minimalist Caparo T1, and he has also incorporated elements from his previous Formula One designs as the faired virtual wheels and wings are designed to harness ground effect and are supplemented by rear-mounted fans.

There's no steering wheel inside, as instead there are polarised 'Batgrips' that provide steer-by-wire control of the antigravity drive.

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