A Street-Legal 1989 Batmobile Built By Putsch Racing

This is a street-legal replica of the 1989 Batmobile that has a custom steel-tube chassis, a Corvette drivetrain, independent four-wheel suspension, four-wheel disc brakes, and perhaps most importantly, retractable, fireable .30 caliber Browning machine guns modified to fire blanks.

No one who saw Batman (1989) in the cinema will ever forget the moment the Batmobile came into view for the first time. It imprinted directly onto the brains of countless millions of kids (and adults), and it’s still widely regarded as the best of the many Batmobile designs that have appeared in films and TV over the years.

Fast Facts: The 1989 Batmobile By Putsch Racing

• This vehicle is a street-legal replica of the 1989 Tim Burton Batmobile, built by Putsch Racing. It uses a Corvette drivetrain, custom steel-tube chassis, independent suspension, and four-wheel disc brakes. Additional features include a remotely operated canopy, digital displays, and retractable .30 caliber Browning machine guns adapted to fire blanks.
• Putsch Racing, founded by American engineer and racer Casey Putsch, specializes in restoring and preparing historic race cars, rare exotics, and bespoke builds. The company picked up significant international attention in 2011 for creating the only turbine-powered Batmobile using a Boeing turboshaft engine.
• Casey Putsch’s work focuses on both engineering and historical preservation. Putsch Racing cars have competed in vintage and endurance racing, and the company operates “Genius Garage,” a program giving students hands-on experience with historic vehicles to prepare for careers in motorsport and engineering.
• This replica Batmobile improves on the original’s Chevrolet Impala-based chassis with lighter construction and better performance. It includes luxury and tactical-themed details like a P-51 Mustang gun sight, scanners, cruise control, and power seats. It will be auctioned by Mecum on September 21 with no reserve.

History Speedrun: Putsch Racing

Putsch Racing was founded by American racer, engineer, and restorer Casey Putsch, whose career has been an interesting combination of competitive motorsport, historic car preservation, and experimental engineering. Based in Ohio, the outfit was established as a performance and restoration shop with a primary focus on vintage racing cars, rare exotics, and one-off builds.

Above Video: This is the official “Making Of” documentary for Batman (1989), and it goes into impressive detail about the development and production of the film, and it’s impact on modern cinema.

From the beginning, Putsch Racing developed a reputation for combining unusual engineering creativity with imaginative builds, developing a national (and international) reputation in a relatively short space of time.

Casey Putsch’s background in engineering and design shaped the company’s direction – he was known in collector car circles before founding Putsch Racing, working on everything from Can-Am race cars to pre-war Grand Prix machinery.

His approach wasn’t just about getting cars running, it was about returning them to a competitive, race-ready state while respecting their historic significance. This made Putsch Racing a fixture at major vintage motorsport events on both sides of the Atlantic, where the team both maintained client cars and fielded their own entries for competition.

The company’s most famous project came in 2011, when Casey and his team built a fully functional turbine-powered Batmobile. Unlike the Hollywood props used in films, this was a drivable car fitted with a military surplus Boeing turboshaft engine producing 365 bhp.

The build was based on the 1989 Tim Burton Batmobile design, fabricated largely in-house. It attracted international attention, featuring in major automotive publications and online media as the only turbine-powered Batmobile of its kind ever made.

Putsch Racing has also served as a platform for Casey’s own racing ambitions – in addition to preparing cars for others, he competed in vintage events, endurance races, and later open-wheel series with much success. His long-term dream of driving in the Indianapolis 500 led him to participate in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship in partnership with Legacy Autosport.

Putsch would later start Genius Garage, an educational program he developed that operates alongside Putsch Racing. It’s an initiative to give college students hands-on experience restoring and racing historic cars, preparing them for careers in engineering, design, and motorsport.

Over the years Putsch Racing’s portfolio has expanded beyond race car restoration to include high-end builds like a heavily modified DeLorean and prototype vehicles like the Omega Car – developed to push aerodynamic efficiency to its limits.

Despite the diversity of their work, the company’s core identity has always remained focused on automotive history and motorsport engineering – whether working on a pre-war Bugatti or a concept race car.

The Putsch Racing 1989 Batmobile Built Shown Here

The 1989 Batmobile you see here is a replica of the one that became a global sensation in the 1989 Tim Burton film Batman, before reprising its role in Batman Returns in 1992 and making a cameo appearance in The Flash (2023).

The version of the Batmobile shown here is considerably quicker than the original, thanks to its Corvette drivetrain, steel tube frame chassis, independent front and rear suspension, and lower weight than the original – which had been based on a Chevrolet Impala chassis.

This car is street-legal, and it’s equipped with a remotely-operated automatic canopy, digital displays, a tilt steering column, power seats, cruise control, a police, military and weather scanner, a P51 Mustang gun sight, onboard AC current, and retractable, fireable .30 caliber Browning machine guns modified with no receiver to fire blanks.

It’s now due to roll across the auction block with Mecum on September the 21st and it’s being offered with no reserve. If you’d like to read more about it or place a bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Mecum