The Batpod first appeared in Batman “The Dark Knight” and was the creation of director Christopher Nolan and production designer Nathan Crowley. The Batpod uses 20-inch wheels from the Tumbler (Batmans avant-garde cubism car) and is powered by the water-cooled single from a Honda CRF450R trail bike. Aside from its crazy appearance and strange riding position (I think Catwoman would find the ride much more comfortable than Batman!) the Batpod has some very interesting design features.
Firstly you may notice the bike doesn’t have any exhausts, this is due to the fact that exhaust gases have been routed through the aluminum and magnesium tubular frame. Steering the Batpod is done using shoulder movement rather than with the hands which for any rider seasoned or not would take some getting used to. The suspension is all in the front of the bike (it’s a hardtail!) and the rider’s feet sit 3 1/2 feet apart in what can only be described as stirrups…interesting view for motorists traveling behind Cat woman!
Best of all the Batpod actually works! In these videos, you can see Anne Hathaway (no wait…that’s her stunt double) piloting Cat Woman’s silver Batpod during the filming of the Dark Knight Rises.
Since the appearance of the Batpod several custom workshops and home builders have put together their own version of Batman’s motorcycle and if you really, really, really want one the last one to go up for auction went for a measly $100k. Bear in mind though it’s not street legal and if it was you probably wouldn’t want to take it out in the rain, that 20-inch front wheel would fill your face with water, mud and oil before you could say “Holy haberdashery, Batman!”.
The latest Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” is currently in production and a series of spy photos of Anne Hathaway who is playing Cat Woman in the movie have emerged with her atop her own silver version of Batman’s motorcycle, the Batpod.
