The Tumbler

"Does it come in black?"

- Bruce Wayne

The Batmobile Tumbler was a vehicle used by Batman. It came complete with an array of weapons and gadgets.

Hitting the streets
"I've got to get me one of those."

- James Gordon

Bruce Wayne acquired a shelved Wayne Enterprises military vehicle, called the "Tumbler", to serve as his Batmobile. Originally sporting military desert camouflage paint, Bruce Wayne requested Lucius Fox to have the Tumbler painted black. At that time, Wayne never referred to it as the "Batmobile."

Several days later, Dr. Jonathan Crane poisoned Rachel Dawes after showing her that his toxin was being piped into Gotham's water supply. She was eventually saved by Batman. The GCPD entered Arkham Asylum and arrested Crane while Batman escaped with Rachel in the Tumbler.

That night, Batman battled Ra's al Ghul aboard a train, then escaped just as Sgt. Jim Gordon, who then drove the Tumbler under Batman's permission, launched the missiles from it, causing Ra's al Ghul to crash with the train to the ground.

Capturing Scarecrow and The Joker
"That's more like it..."

- The Scarecrow

Several months later Batman parked the Tumbler, newly christened the "Batmobile", in a car park, where he remotely controlled it to fire at some cars to intimidate the Scarecrow and a Russian mob before the Dark Knight himself appeared on the scene. Despite failing to stop the Russian mob from escaping, he successfully caught the Scarecrow and a group of Batman impersonators.

Wayne Enterprises accountant Coleman Reese confronted Lucius Fox about his designs of the Tumbler, remarking how it was of his design and asking sardonically if Fox never noticed it tearing up the streets on the news.

Harvey Dent was being escorted across the city when the convoy was attacked by The Joker and his thugs, who disabled all of the police vehicles except for the armored car carrying Dent. Batman entered the fray with his Batmobile, and rammed a garbage truck driven by one of the Joker's thugs via head-on collision. Batman then ran the Batmobile full-speed between the Joker's truck and the armored car, receiving the brunt of an RPG fired by the Joker. After the Batmobile flipped violently on the side of the road, Batman engaged its escape mechanism, converting the Batmobile's left and right front tires into the Batpod before the rest of the vehicle self-destructed.

Technical specifications

 * Length: 15 feet (4.57 m)
 * Width: 9 feet 4 inches (2.84 m)
 * Weight: 2.5 short tons (2.3 t)
 * Acceleration: 0-60 in 5.6 seconds. Under full acceleration, the car could actually rise up on its front suspension while the front wheels stayed planted on the ground creating an effect like a giant spider.
 * Aprrox. full speed: 160mph (257 kmh)
 * Engine : 5.0 liter Vauxhall/GM engine capable of 500 horsepower. The jet engine and vector controls could jump up to 6 feet vertically.
 * Fuel: The "jet engine" on the back of the car was fed by propane tanks.
 * Tires: Super swampers tires standing 44 inches tall (via titanium axles).

Background Information and Notes

 * While the original tumbler was destroyed in The Dark Knight, three replicas of the tumbler, including one in the original camo design from Batman Begins, have been seen in the City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for filming of The Dark Knight Rises. It is unknown if these will be used for flashback scenes or for original portions of the film.

Appearances

 * Batman Begins
 * The Dark Knight
 * The upcoming The Dark Knight Rises