Production designer of 'The Batman' says new Batmobile needed to feel like Bruce Wayne built it himself

• The Batmobile in "The Batman" is the least flashy in the history of the franchise.
• Production designer James Chinlund said it was made to seem as though Bruce Wayne built it himself.

For as many versions of the Batman character we have seen on screen over the decades, we have also seen quite a few variations of the Batmobile.

The two go hand-in-hand and because of that, "The Batman" director Matt Reeves and his longtime production designer James Chinlund didn't shy away from tackling Batman's iconic ride.

"Basically Matt got the job, we had a meeting and the first thing we talked about was the car," Chinlund told Insider.

According to Chinlund, the whole cinematic tone of Reeves' take on year two of Bruce Wayne (played by Robert Pattinson) being Gotham City's Dark Knight started with first nailing down the style of the Batmobile.

"We loved the idea that Bruce was a gear head," he said. "He would take pride in building things himself. And for us that right there was a huge separation from the other 'Batman' movies."

"Often Batman is dependent on Wayne Industries and is almost like a James Bond-type where he shows up in a suit and people show him the toys," Chinlund continued. "We were really excited about Bruce getting some dirt under his fingernails."

This idea made Pattinson's Batmobile the least flashy in the history of the franchise.

"It isn't a tank or a futuristic machine, it's a car," Chinlund said of their Batmobile. "At this point in Bruce's journey, it felt appropriate that he would be in the shop tearing apart other cars and repurposing them."

The trailers released of "The Batman" feature quick glimpses of the Batmobile which led to fans guessing what car model it is.

"There's a lot of talk that it's a Dodge Charger," said Chinlund, who admits they didn't really have a model as an inspiration. "It was more the idea of Frankensteining from things that Bruce had around."

The design of the car was motivated by Reeves' note early on that Bruce Wayne would need the Batmobile to be a vehicle that is "a relentless pursuer in which nothing can get in its way," Chinlund said.

The car also has a massive steel front bumper so the car could ram through anything.

And its huge engine is exposed in the car's rear because, as Chinlund put it, "no one's chasing him, he's chasing them."

Along with Reeves wanting a certain look, he also wanted his Batmobile to be practical: The car had to drive, and drive fast.

Chinlund said the movie's special effects supervisor, Dominic Tuohy, built the Batmobile with a Chevy V8 627 horse power engine, which gave the car quite a kick.

"I don't know the top speed it did, but we were out on a closed airport runway for the case sequence work and it went fast," Chinlund said.

On top of the speed, Chinlund said their Batmobile is nimble, as it could jump off ramps, go on two wheels, and do burnouts.

Chinlund said despite stunt drivers being involved in the production, Pattinson also did a lot of the driving in the Batmobile.

"Rob put it through its paces," he said. "He was there working it out for sure. He got it to some top speeds. He was heavily involved in his stunt driving work."

But what exactly is "top speeds"? Insider reached out to Tuohy who said with that size engine, the Batmobile easily got up to 100 mph.

Chinlund said if there's a sequel to "The Batman" the Batmobile will certainly get supped up more. But like the first movie, it has to feel grounded and practical.

"Our Batmobile is mission-specific, so I think every visual decision we made on the film came back to the story: What is Bruce trying to do, and why does he need this thing?" Chinlund said. "I think going forward with the design of the car it's what challenges lay ahead for Batman and what changes will he need. I think we expect the Batmobile to evolve along with his mission."

"The Batman" is currently playing in theaters.