To help kick off the release of The Dark Knight Rises on Blu-Ray and DVD, the guys at Top Gear (UK) took the Tumbler for ride around the Test Track:
It’s a monster, is what it is. It looks as though it has ingested the aerodynamically enhanced Batmobiles of the 90s and simply run over the 60s icon. It’s also heavy; 2.5 tonnes-type heavy. “A lot of it is made from steel,” Corbould says, “but the body panels are a mixture of carbon fibre and fibreglass. It’s a big old lump though, and apart from the engine and gearbox, everything has been built from scratch.”
Ah yes, the engine. It’s only a 5.7-litre Chevy V8, packing many horsepowers and one of the finest exhaust notes to have ever scrambled a brain. “We’ve got a 350cu engine in there: standard block, 400bhp, very reliable. It gives that great sound as well, which I think is so indicative of the Batmobile.” It certainly does: a precursory test run of the Tumbler around Dunsfold involved firing it up and checking for leaks. You could probably hear that engine from France.
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