Since the very first Batmobile was introduced in May 1930, there have been replicas made by fans and tuning houses everywhere. But never has one been made with an actual turbine engine that the Batmobile of the late 80s had in the film. Putsch Racing has done just that...minus the guns, rockets, gadgets and gizmos.
Putsch Racing is better known for restoring and tuning cars and bikes, but this one-off project is quite possibly Casey Putsch’s most unbelievable yet. Not to mention that the car sounds like a fighter jet. A really mean fighter jet.
Powered by a turbine engine taken from a decommissioned military helicopter, the Putsch designed Batmobile is a marvel in ingenuity. There’s even an iPad in there doing who knows what. Maybe they took a page out of Hyundai’s book and used it as an owner’s manual. We’d hope not though, something cooler seems more fitting.
What’s even better than Putsch designing and creating this fire-breathing beast? It’s for sale. But you’ll have to contact Putsch directly for a price, which is probably fairly high.
Hit the jump for some more information and an accompanying video of the Batmobile by Putsch Racing.
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As with most custom projects, companies who go through this option understand that it’s a hit-or-miss proposition; some people might like it and some might hate it.
In the case of Italian coachbuilder, Fornasari, their new crossover project, the RR99, definitely falls somewhere in between. The car was initially presented at the Geneva Motor Show back in March and is being described as a luxury grand tourer that offers plenty of off-road capabilities.
It even has an impressive powertrain under its hood, one that features a GM-sourced 6.0-liter V8 engine that produces 610 horsepower with a ’north to 60’ time of just 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 174 mph. By all accounts, the RR99 has some serious ponies inside that body. But it starts to get a little tricky when talking about the body. The interior looks luxed-up, which is pretty cool, but the exterior design, is pretty confusing. There are elements of Lamborghini, Aston Martin, and Porsche that seem to have been thrown into a giant blender, ratcheted up to peak power, and produced the RR99.
Judging it on its looks leaves a lot to be desired as far as originality is concerned. Thank God, it’s got an impressive powertrain, otherwise this crossover - they really took it literally with that label, didn’t they? - will be as forgettable as anything we’ve seen lately.
For anyone insane enough to want to buy it, Fornasari is currently taking orders.
Now that summer’s here, it seems like the perfect time for all of us to bring out the grills, plop down the lawn chairs, and open up the umbrellas for a few months worth of barbecue and sausages.
Seeing as we are a predominantly auto website, this fancy and novel set of four wheels caught our attention, not just because of its ingenuity, but more importantly, because that it includes all the aforementioned parts of our summer grill-out inside the confines of a vehicle.
The car is called the ’Carbeque’, and as it name obviously suggests, it serves the purpose of a car and a cook-out place all rolled into one. Just by looking at it, you already get the idea that this 1957 Ford Customline-turned-diner is something that you’d want to have in your home. It’s got a diner-inspired set-up with a black-and-white checkerboard tile configuration. The interior, which is dressed in a red and white set-up, comes with a C-shaped couch with a table in the middle, an umbrella, and where the engine used to be now comes a grille.
With the sun about to shine its brightest in the coming months, the question of where you’re going to do your summer barbecue will be answered by this one-of-a-kind diner on four wheels.
You can spin its name however you want, but the name "Galaxy Warrior" doesn’t necessarily sound like something you’d want to put in your car. Sure, it could pass as the name of the Ultimate Warrior’s long-lost cousin.
But as a styling package for the Lamborghini Gallardo? Nope. Not good at all.
True to its name, this "Galaxy Warrior" Gallardo that’s being sold on Ebay Germany does look the part of an intergalactic machine from the world of Warrior. But here on this planet, where the Gallardo is considered one of the most beautifully-designed cars in the world, there’s no room for robotic-looking Italian supercars, even if its an attention-grabber in every lost sense of the word.
In any case, the people responsible for this ungodly sight is a company called ATS Automotive, which gave the Gallardo an aerodynamic kit that includes a new front bumper, new side skirts, a number of new air vents, a new rear bumper, an aftermarket rear wing, and new twin-pipe exhaust system, and a new set of alloy wheels.
While it does sound like a package that’s got everything you need in an aero kit, the visual result of the whole car leaves a lot to be desired.
About the only thing redeemable about this car is that it still comes with the Gallardo’s 5.2-liter V10 engine that produces an output of 560 horsepower. Other than that, and that alone, we’d leave this one alone.
The Chrysler PT Cruiser is – or should we say, was – a car that you would never mistake for being a powerhouse. Retro-looking, sure. Snorting horsepower? Hardly.
The only way you could give the PT Cruiser some street rep is to take out its four-cylinder mechanical guts and place something akin to a Dodge Viper’s powerhouse V10 in it, which, fortunately, is exactly what someone did to their beloved, little hatch. The result is a vehicle that epitomizes substance over style. On the outside, the first thing you’ll notice is the fact that this PT Cruiser was turned into a pick-up, which is weird enough on its own considering the retro hatch’s unmistakable profile. So without the rear doors and a hatch that has since been replaced with a pick-up bed, the PT Cruiser’s new profile lends itself a curious look.
That is until you pop open the hood.
Where a 2.4-liter four-cylinder, naturally aspirated engine that produces 150 horsepower and 165 lb-ft of torque once resided is now an old 8.0-liter V10 engine that produces 500 horsepower to go with the Viper’s six-speed transmission, rear suspension, and steering rack. The car is said to have been built some years back, but given it’s uniqueness and downright peculiarity – not to mention the insane power under its hood – it’s still something that will catch your attention.
Now is it enough to warrant a bid on eBay for more than the $13,100 price tag currently on display? We say absolutely only because something this weird with that much horsepower is bound to make anyone stand out in a crowd.
