The Batmobile as it appeared in “Batman” and “Batman Returns.”

Before the Petersen Automotive Museum closed for renovations in late October, we made one last trip through, mostly to see the Chevrolets housed under the roof of what was once a Seibu department store building designed by popular Los Angeles architect, Welton Becket. The Museum has long been a favorite of ours, largely because of its ties to pop culture. For example, on March 9, 1997, The rapper known as “The Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down 50 yards away after leaving a party at the museum.

Designed to look menacing.

Another of the museum’s ties to popular culture rests in the inhabitants of the museum itself. On of those denizens that calls the museum home is the legendary Batmobile. This particular Batmobile is the one that was driven by Michael Keaton in “Batman” (1989) and “Batman Returns” (1992).

Many Batman fans believe that George Barris played a hand in creating the movie Batmobile, and while he was instrumental in creating the TV series Batmobile, Barris played no part in the creation of this particular Batmobile. Production Designer Anton Furst came up with the design used in this project. The Batmobile was then built by an effects crew working under Special Effects Supervisor John Evans. When the Batmobile was updated for Batman Returns, Production Designer Bo Welch was the architect of the work.

Furst wanted a menacing looking car with a combination of stealth aircraft and medieval knight. Looking to early auto designs, and Bonneville land speed record cars, Furst captured what he believed was, “Something that has brute force and forbidding power coupled with form, shape, and sculpture. Something that is, frankly, quite rude.”

From that design, Evans and a crew of 12 technicians built two functional prototype cars in eight-weeks. These were mostly fiberglass bodies mounted on GM chassis. The one owned by the Petersen Automotive Museum is actually a 1967 Chevrolet Impala chassis that was found in a London junkyard.

This Batmobile was powered by a 327ci SBC that was mounted low in the frame to lower the hood line and give the machine it’s land speed record car type profile. The vehicle is stretched to an amazing 20 feet in length, and actual Rolls-Royce jet engine components were used to form the hood mounted intake with several pieces scavenged from a Harrier jet, like turbine blades and nose cones, to complete the look.

If you look closely at the windscreen, you can see the wiper blades that were added for “Batman Returns.”

Furst would not continue with the car after his work on Batman. Contractual obligations prevented him from working on “Batman Returns.” Shortly thereafter, Furst’s wife Penny filed for separation and a substance abuse problem prompted the designer to commit suicide in 1991.

The Batmobile’s design remained unchanged between movies for the most part. Aside from minor aesthetic changes, with the exception of the “Batmissile” mode introduced late in “Batman Returns.”

Lifting the extra long vehicle into the second story of the Presidential Library was more difficult than any of the other vehicles lifted that day.

Two Batmobiles, the feature car and a stand-in, appeared in the two movies. Three additional studio-authorized Batmobiles, of which the Petersen Batmobile is one, were constructed for publicity and promotional use after the film’s release.

This Batmobile was recently craned into the second floor of the Reagan Library for an exhibit of Hollywood cars at the Presidential library. Chevy Hardcore reported the news, which can be seen by clicking here.