BEST TV HERO CAR: BLACK BEAUTY-VS-'67 BATMOBILE-VS- KITT-VS- VIPER

[MacynSnow]

My choice is always gonna be The Black Beauty. It took out a Tank fer crying out loud.

[Batgirl III]

I know, I know, this probably will seem like a heretical statement coming from me... But I gotta go with the Black Beauty.

The Lincoln Futura-based `66 Batmobile just doesn't have the right... something. I don't know exactly what it is, but it has always looked slightly Not Right to me. Maybe its the permanently open canopy, maybe it's the big red berry light, maybe its the fact that the color scheme is black and red instead of the black and grey or grey and blue color schemes I typically associate with the Batman. Maybe its all of the above.

The Chrysler Imperial Crown-based `66 Black Beauty though? Oooh, man. Those smooth lines, that pearlescent green-black paint job, the dark tinted windows... That car just looks good.

KITT is a great character. KITT definitely has cooler gadgets than the Black Beauty and definitely looks cooler than the Futura Batmobile, but apart from that iconic sensor sweeping light under the hood, he is just a 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am on the exterior.

Viper is just a poor man's KITT. Objectively, it looks cooler than KITT in both it's street-legal standard Dodge Viper RT/10 mode and it's enhanced combat mode... But I have to dock it major points for being both an obvious attempt at ripping off KITT and being a thinly veiled Dodge commercial.

So, final scores from me:

1) The Black Beauty, 10 out of 10. Perfect balance of aesthetics, gadgetry, character and theme.
2) The Batmobile, 8 out of 10. High marks for gadgetry and theme, has good character, but loses a bit on aesthetics.
3) KITT, 6 out of 10. High marks for character and gadgetry, neutral on theme, held back by mundane exterior (except for that awesome light!).
4) Viper, 3 out of 10. Cool gadgets, cool look... But zero character of it's own (its a KITT rip-off) and thematically it's a Dodge commercial!

I'd put Magnum's Ferrari 308, them Duke Boy's General Lee, the A-Team van, and Starsky & Hutch's Gran Torino all on this list ahead of the Viper... and they were all just mundane cars.

[CaptainChaos]

I grew up watching the Adam West Batman series as a kid. I have always loved the look of the Batmobile. The Michael Keaton Batmobile is a close second.

My list is:
Batmobile
Black Beauty (loved watching The Green Hornet as a kid as well)
K.I.T.T.
Viper is something I never watched so it goes at the bottom.

How would you rate the movie Batmobiles?

[MacynSnow]

I honestly liked the Batman Begins Batmobile, as it looked like it was built for Urban Warfare and not Astetics only. Don't like what they did to it Afterward, but still...
TOP MOVIE BATMOBILES:
1) Batman Begins-- function over appearance, just as early Batman needed...
2) BatWest Movie-- if the Hornet wasn't in town, i bum West's ride every time...

[Jack of Spades]

Black Beauty, KITT, Batmobile '66, Viper. But Black Beauty gets top marks for being able to fight crime aggressively and not being a smartass–I believe that's what butlers are for. Also, you can carry rescue more than one adult and fight crime in the rain. Though after the '85 upgrade, KITT might beat Black Beauty out due to the convertible mode.

[Batgirl III]

Batgirl's Movie Batmobile Rankings



1) Batman: Mask of the Phantasm & Batman: The Animated Series Perfection.
2) Batman & Batman Returns The `89 Batmobile is so close to perfect, but held back by the slightly cartoony pointed nose on the front turbine intake. The animated Batmobile, above, basically refined and perfected this design.
3) Batman: The Movie & Batman The famous `66 Batmobile has a undeniable retro-futurism charm.
4) Batman Begins / The Dark Knight The "Tumbler" looks damn cool, has great features, and is given an actual role in the plot beyond "the car," but it just doesn't feel like a Batmobile. It's a Bat-Tank. It's an awesome Bat-Tank, but it's not a Batmobile.
5) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice & Suicide Squad It looks like Colossal Boy of the LSH accidentally stepped on the Tumbler.
6) Batman Forever Why is the Batman driving around in car with neon tiger stripes?
7) Batman & Robin No, seriously, why the @#$% is the Batman driving around in car with neon tiger stripes!?

[Ares]

My vote would be for the Black Beauty as well. Nice looking car with a ridiculous amount of gadgets. Heck, it had a drone with a video camera in the 60's.

60's Batmobile . . . the lack of a roof means you can't even take the thing out when it rains. I forget if it had any gadgets comparable to the Black Beauty, but that's just an excuse to re-watch the series.

KITT would be great for the companionship, but beyond always having a co-pilot and a sturdy frame, the only other major advantage it had was the turbo-boost.

I've never seen an episode of VIPER.

This does make me want to imagine some Ready Player 1 scenario where a lot of famous vehicles, especially older ones, are driving around either on some race or as part of a mission.

The 60's Batmobile, the Black Beauty, KITT, Airwolf, the A-Team's van, Doc Brown's DeLorean, etc.

[Ares]

Batgirl's Movie Batmobile Rankings



1) Batman: Mask of the Phantasm & Batman: The Animated Series Perfection.
2) Batman & Batman Returns The `89 Batmobile is so close to perfect, but held back by the slightly cartoony pointed nose on the front turbine intake. The animated Batmobile, above, basically refined and perfected this design.
3) Batman: The Movie & Batman The famous `66 Batmobile has a undeniable retro-futurism charm.
4) Batman Begins / The Dark Knight The "Tumbler" looks damn cool, has great features, and is given an actual role in the plot beyond "the car," but it just doesn't feel like a Batmobile. It's a Bat-Tank. It's an awesome Bat-Tank, but it's not a Batmobile.
5) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice & Suicide Squad It looks like Colossal Boy of the LSH accidentally stepped on the Tumbler.
6) Batman Forever Why is the Batman driving around in car with neon tiger stripes?
7) Batman & Robin No, seriously, why the @#$% is the Batman driving around in car with neon tiger stripes!?

What, no mention of the "Batmobile" that showed up in the CW's Batwoman?

[Batgirl III]

I haven’t actually seen Batwoman yet, apart from her crossover appearances in the other shows.

[Woodclaw]

Due to my relative lack of exposure to the Green Hornet, I think I have to vote for K.I.T.T., mostly because the showrunners had the right idea of making the vehicle a fully-fledged character.
Still, the Black Beauty comes in as a super-close second.
The '60 Batmobile never appealed to me in any way. It's not the worst design (the vehicles from Joel Schumacher's movies are way worst), but it never really clicked with my own aesthetics.
Viper got disqualified for being a budget version of K.I.T.T. (just like everything else on that show).

[Ken]

The Mach 5.

[MacynSnow]

The Mach 5.

Ah, so we have the Foreign car entry. My problem with the Mach 5 was that Engine block. The look was OK but that was a HORRIBLE Engine they put in it & you could barely turn with it in.

[kirinke]

Ahh, but you lot have forgotten a true Classic.
Herbie.

[Batgirl III]

Ahh, but you lot have forgotten a true Classic.
Herbie.

Disqualified due to not being a TV Hero Car.

[kirinke]

Actually....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbie,_t ... TV_series)