Batman’s motorbike, known as the Batpod, is going under the hammer as part of a movie memorabilia auction, with an estimate of up to £900,000 (US$1.2 million). The vehicle was used in Christopher Nolan movies “The Dark Knight” (2008) and “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012), both of which starred Christian Bale as Batman, and is being sold by auction house Propstore Auction. “It’s a cracking thing,” Stephen Lane, CEO and founder of Propstore, told CNN on Thursday. Lane said that the vehicle, which is known as “The Beast,” was designed by Nolan himself in conjunction with production designer Nathan Crowley. Chris Korvold, Academy Award winner for special effects, was then tasked with bringing it to life. “It’s actually quite a feat of engineering… to actually have that thing practically working on set,” said Lane, explaining that the bike uses a 750cc Honda engine and “monstrous” 31-inch tires. “I know that it was a really, really tricky thing for the actors to sit on, but also the stunt guys to actually drive this practically as well,” he added. Lane said there were a number of incidents in which someone lost control of the Batpod, including one that was captured on video in which the vehicle “smashes into one of the cameras.” “It basically sort of careers out of control and knocks the camera over,” he said. “So I think it was a very, very tricky thing.” The bike is one of six made, but it’s the only one that has been officially released by Warner Bros. Studios, said Lane. “Vehicles like this are just so desirable because of their unique nature and because of their impressive aesthetic as well,” he said. “It’s got to be one of the most impressive looking and… memorable, I would say, movie vehicles of all time,” he added. Online bidding opened on Thursday and will close on December 4 at a live auction in London. The Batpod is being sold alongside hundreds of other pieces of movie memorabilia, including two complete Batsuits – one worn by Bale in 2005’s “Batman Begins” and another worn 10 years earlier by Val Kilmer in “Batman Forever.” Other items going under the hammer include the fedora and shirt worn by stuntman Vic Armstrong in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984) and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989), as well as the sword used by Kit Harington’s Jon Snow in the “Game of Thrones” television series. Also among the movie memorabilia is Freddy Krueger’s glove, which met its reserve price of £25,000 (US$34,000) just a few hours after the auction went live. More than 100 lots will go on display at a preview exhibition at the Cumberland Hotel in London from Nov. 19 to Nov. 22. By Jack Guy, CNN
