Tumbler

"He is in a vehicle."
"Make and color?"
"Uh, it's a black... tank."

―Police Officers

The Tumbler was the Batman's primary mode of transportation.

History

Military Vehicle

"She was built as a bridging vehicle. During combat, two of these would jump over a river, towing cables."

―Lucius Fox to Bruce Wayne

The Tumbler was designed to be a bridging vehicle in combat by jumping over a river while towing cables. While Wayne Enterprises could never get the bridge to work, the rampless jump was still functional.

Black Tank

"Does it come in black?"

―Bruce Wayne to Lucius Fox

To be added

Capabilities

"He's not on a street! He's flying on rooftops!"

―Police Officer

Bruce Wayne described the Tumbler as a cross between a Lamborghini Countach and a Humvee.

Users

• Rachel Dawes
• Lucius Fox
• James Gordon
• Bruce Wayne/Batman

Behind the scenes

Batman Begins

• Although Christian Bale performed many of his own stunts, he wasn't allowed anywhere near the Batmobile.
• While shooting on the streets of Chicago, a person accidentally crashed into the Batmobile. The driver was apparently drunk, and said he hit the car in a state of panic, believing the Dark Knight's vehicle to be an invading alien spacecraft.
• The Batmobile, nine feet wide, and sixteen feet long, has a top speed of one hundred six miles (one hundred seventy kilometers) per hour, and can accelerate from zero to sixty miles (ninety-six kilometers) per hour in six seconds. The engine is a 5.7 liter V8 Chevy. It runs on unleaded gasoline, and can do about seven miles per gallon. It has four 44-inch tires at the rear, made by Interco Tire Corporation, while the front is covered in jagged plates of armor. It was designed and built by Chris Corbould and Andrew Smith at Shepperton Studios in England. This Batmobile was built from the ground up, and is estimated to be worth half a million pounds sterling. It was designed by mashing together several different off-the-shelf model kits. Its construction was so exacting to the model, that they even duplicated the blobs of excess glue.
• There were five Batmobiles made for this movie.
• Writer and director Christopher Nolan envisioned the Tumbler to be a combination of a Lamborghini and a Hummer.
• While filming on Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago, Illinois, the filmmakers were so concerned for the care of the Batmobile that they told the stunt driver to take as much time as he needed to make any move. Therefore, when it came time to back the Batmobile up, they went so slow as to cause traffic jams that had to be reported on the news. Simply moving the Batmobile around Chicago took numerous police, as well as causing traffic jams wherever they went.
• Stuntdriver George Cottle went through four Batmobiles during the making of this movie.
• Nathan Crowley said that the design of the Batmobile was largely influenced from the design seen in Frank Miller's graphic novel "The Dark Knight Returns". The incarnation of the Batmobile was given the nickname "The Tumbler", by filmmakers and Miller.
• A possible influence (apart from "The Dark Knight Returns" graphic novel) in the Tumbler's design is the F-117 Nighthawk, sharing similar features, specifically the use of odd angles around the body used for stealth (although the Tumbler might use them to disperse kinetic energy from bullets and explosives) and almost jet-black color.
• The Tumbler weighed 2 and a half tons.
• The only post-1989 Batman movie where none of Batman's vehicles are dismantled.
• Matt Miller (Gotham Car Cop #3) appeared throughout the Tumbler chase scene, including the crushed patrol car, roof top, and viaduct scenes.
• Batman rescues Rachel Dawes, and is evading the police with the Batmobile/Tumbler on I-17 in Gotham City. The city and highway fictitiously exist on the eastern seaboard of the United States. The real I-17 is one hundred forty-six miles long, and exists entirely in the state of Arizona, linking Phoenix to Flagstaff.
• When Bruce Wayne test drives the Tumbler in a huge white room that is the interior of the Excel Exhibition Centre in East London. The separating walls have been pulled back to allow the Tumbler to drive around, but you can still see the hall numbers as they drive by them (N4, N5, et cetera).

The Dark Knight

• While filming a chase scene on Lake Street, the Chicago Police Department received several calls from concerned citizens stating that the police were involved in a vehicle pursuit with a dark vehicle of unknown make or model.
• While filming in Chicago, Wanted (2008) was the neighboring production, and Morgan Freeman worked concurrently on both movies. At one point, Wanted comic book writer Mark Millar visited the set, but without permission. The security and Lauren Shuler Donner (who also visited the set at that time) caught Millar sitting on the Batpod. Millar was escorted away from the set.
• Thirty-nine vehicles are crashed, shot, blown-up, bumped, or otherwise involved in some sort of violence in this movie.
• Lower Wacker Drive in Chicago was closed every night, starting at 7 p.m. during the summer of 2007, to accommodate filming. The street was open during the day, however, and the several Batmobiles and Tumblers were visible, just on the other side of the barricades, covered only with sheets.
• Christian Bale never got to ride the Batpod. Only one of the stuntmen was able to stay on it.
• The Batpod weighed six hundred pounds.
• Writer, producer, and director Christopher Nolan had the initial full-size mock model of the Batpod built in his garage.
• In addition to the Lamborghini being a "bat"mobile, its color scheme is an homage to Batman. The wheels are black, the color is dark grey, and the brake calipers are vibrant yellow. In the animated series and some comic versions, the cowl and cape are black, the suit is dark grey, and the oval around the bat symbol and his utility belt are yellow.
• The Tumbler versus the garbage truck in Lower Fifth was filmed with 1/3 scale miniatures.
• There are only two official Lego figures released under this movie's label. They are, of course, Batman and The Joker, and can only be purchased with the pro-builder's model of the Tumbler.