Batmobile hits Silverstone for British Grand Prix

To celebrate the upcoming launch of the new Batman film The Dark Knight, movie producers will bring the new Batmobile to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.

And the Batmobile – nicknamed “The Tumbler” – will perform a demonstration run alongside Toyota’s hardened F1 racing cars, which also feature The Dark Knight artwork.

The new Batmobile in The Dark Knight is a 2.5-tonne custom-built ex-military vehicle which uses a 5.7-litre Chevrolet V8 with enough power to sprint from 0-60mph in around five seconds.

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The hardcore Batmobile – which uses parts from a truck and sports six monster 37-inch wheels – has enough power to JUMP up to 18m.

Toyota F1 racing drivers Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock will also sport Batman artwork on their racing overalls.

The hot new Batman film is scheduled to hit UK cinemas on 25 July 2008, and features Christian Bale in the lead role as the caped crusader.

The Dark Knight will also feature Heath Ledger – who died in January 2008 aged just 28 – as the psychotic Joker, reprising the role made by famous by Jack Nicholson in 1989’s Batman, directed by Tim Burton.

And British F1 superstar Lewis Hamilton will be looking to make amends on home turf this weekend as the British Grand Prix gets underway.

The F1 ace has not scored in the last two races. He drove into the back of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari in Canada and finished tenth in France after a penalty.

We’ll be at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend, so come back for more updates.

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