Batman drives on Mickey Thompsons

LAS VEGAS — Astute movie viewers may already have been clued in by a brief "Easter egg" in the film "The Batman," but now the rest of us know that the uber-performing Batmobile from the film owed some of its extreme performance to Mickey Thompson tires.

The twin-engined, "function-first" hotrod built for the movie was equipped from the start with Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R tires, according to information being shared with visitors to the 2022 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, where the vehicle is on display the Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels display in front of the South Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

"We wanted to represent Bruce Wayne as a gear head," James Chinlund, production designer for "The Batman," said.

"He has an intimate relationship with every detail of the Batmobile, built it from the ground up with his own hands. Every component on the car was designed or selected with the mission in mind.

Subscribe to Tire Business for more award-winning news and insight.

"Mickey Thompson tires come from a tradition of scratch-built cars; built for speed and power, innovating and experimenting to squeeze every bit of performance out of the vehicle they can," Chinlund said. "It was the natural fit for the Batmobile."

Fans of the movie may already have noticed actor and Batman portrayer Robert Pattinson in the film wearing a Mickey Thompson T-shirt early in the film --- for a brief second or two.

"It's clear that the producers of 'The Batman' intended to depict Bruce Wayne as highly knowledgeable, building with aftermarket parts," Dominick Montouri, president of Mickey Thompson Tires & Wheels, said.

"This new Batmobile is a true project build and perfectly captures the essence of our industry. We're thrilled for the opportunity to give Mickey Thompson and Batman fans alike a chance to see this incredible vehicle firsthand at the SEMA Show."

The vehicle's appearance is courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. "The Batman" is now streaming on HBO MAX.

The Batmobile is based on a late 1960s-era Dodge Charger. In reality, producers built four Batmobiles, each used to film different aspects of the film's central chase scene, according to several on-online sources.