Real Life Batmobile: Man Spends Two Years Building Iconic 1989 Car | Ridiculous Rides
A REAL-LIFE superhero has turned down six-figure offers for his home-made Batmobile - so he can continue helping sick children. Batman fanatic Zac Mihajlovic, from Camden, Australia, hand-built his very own street legal version of the car from the 1989 film starring Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson. The 29-year-old turned his comic book fantasies into a high-octane reality by constructing a replica of the iconic vehicle. And the car has whipped up a reaction wherever it has been seen. Businessmen from across the world, including a Sheik in Dubai, have offered Zac big bucks for the Batmobile - and he has also seen his share of bizarre requests. And rather than cash-in on his dream machine, Zac decided to use his powers for good by teaming up with the Make-A-Wish foundation, who make dream’s come true for terminally-ill children.
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MotorTranscript
00:00 COMM: For most comic book fans, owning a
00:04 Batmobile is just a pipe dream. But here in Australia, one Batman fanatic has made the
00:09 dream a reality by hand building his own version of the iconic vehicle.
00:14 COMM: What makes this Batmobile different
00:17 is it's street legal. Like I can take it down and get groceries if I wanted to. The
00:21 reaction of the car has just been insane.
00:24 SAC Mihailovic started building the replica
00:31 four years ago with the help of his very own Lucius Fox, grandfather John Green, a retired
00:37 engineer. During the two year build, the 29-year-old was even able to get some of the parts from
00:42 the car used in the original film.
00:44 SAC Mihailovic The Batmobile behind me is the 1989 Batmobile
00:48 and this was the Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson film. It's got adjustable suspension, it's
00:52 got a working afterburner which is from the film, no machine gun sadly, no grappling hooks,
00:58 no bombs that come out of the wheel. But pretty much beyond that, yeah, it's pretty close.
01:03 COMM: There are thought to be ten other replica
01:05 cars of the 1989 Batmobile but Sac believes he's the only one that can legally drive on
01:11 public roads.
01:12 SAC Mihailovic The first time I took it out was definitely
01:16 an experience. I was on the freeway on the way to Gold Coast and there was this noise
01:22 and I thought there was something wrong with the car. It's actually the news helicopter
01:24 from Channel 9 that had chased me down the freeway. That was pretty memorable.
01:29 COMM: And not surprisingly, the replica has
01:31 won him plenty of admirers, including the ladies.
01:34 ANNABELLA LEONE My name's Annabella Leone and I am dating
01:36 Batman. We've been dating for about four years and can I just say, I was with him two
01:41 years prior to the Batmobile. That's my seat, the passenger seat, and if any girl out there
01:45 wants it, I swear to God, dead.
01:47 COMM: And Sac has also had his fair share of
01:49 bizarre requests.
01:50 SAC MIHAILOVIC I've had a couple ring me up and say, "I
01:54 know this is gonna sound weird but we want a Chris in the car, so to speak." And I sort
02:00 of said, "You know, I'm not really interested." And they said, "We'll pay you what you want
02:03 and we'll bring plastic sheets." And I'm like, "You've just made that worse, you know,
02:08 so no thanks."
02:09 COMM: Businessmen from across the world have
02:11 offered Sac big bucks for the Batmobile but he's decided to use his powers for good by
02:16 teaming up with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, who make dreams come true for terminally ill
02:20 children. Today he's using his comic book car to impress families at the local shops.
02:25 SAC MIHAILOVIC It's a brilliant, brilliant charity because
02:28 it gives kids, sadly, their dying wish. I dress up as Batman and I surprise the kids.
02:35 Sometimes it's knocking on someone's door and obviously organised. Some of them run
02:39 for their lives and it takes a bit of warming up to get them back into the Batmobile. But
02:45 some are just super pumped.
02:46 COMM: Over the last three years Sac has helped
02:49 more than 40 children and has no plans to stop. And while he may not be using the Batmobile
02:54 to fight off the Joker or the Penguin, in the eyes of many he's very much a hero.
02:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]