When it comes to the pantheon of pop culture cars, few models rival the iconic status of the Batmobile.
Though the global success of the Batman series has spawned numerous one-off replicas of the iconic superhero car, one manufacturer has launched the first publicly available version of the Batmobile.
In the case of Mahindra, the Indian car maker has launched an official Batmobile in collaboration with Warner Bros., with the brand drawing inspiration from Christoper Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy.
According to Mahindra, the limited-edition Electric Origin – the brand’s electric vehicle subsidiary – model is built from the 6E, a mid-sized five-door electric SUV that’s longer than a Mazda CX-3 but shorter than the Toyota RAV4.
Limited to 300 examples, the Mahindra BE 6 Batman Edition is priced from ₹27.79 Lakh, which equates to approximately $AUD49,085 before on-road costs.
Australian comic fans shouldn't get too excited, as a Mahindra Australia spokesperson confirmed the limited-edition superhero car will only be sold in its native Indian market.
Additionally, the Mahindra BE 6 electric SUV is under consideration for Australia, though the car maker is yet to officially confirm if and when the car will arrive in the domestic market.
According to the Indian marque, local order books are set to open on August 23, 2025, with deliveries scheduled to start on September 20, which DC Comics chose as Batman Day to celebrate the iconic superhero’s 75th anniversary in 2014.
The limited-edition Mahindra BE 6 ‘Batmobile’ features Batman-inspired exterior cosmetic designs such as the bat emblem on the electric SUV's front quarter panels, hub caps, the rear bumper and windscreen, its roof, as well as its carpet lighting.
The superhero’s silhouette is featured on the car’s front doors, while the electric SUV rides on R20 alloy wheels equipped with gold-painted suspension and brake calipers.
The Batman aesthetic continues in the car’s interior, where a gold bat plaque is displayed on the dashboard, while the electric SUV’s suede and leather seats feature gold-accented stitching, and the Dark Knight emblem can be seen on the headrest.
According to Pratap Bose, the Chief Design and Creative Officer of Mahindra, “with the [BE 6] Batman edition, we wanted to go further – to create something so personal, so visually arresting, that owning it feels like owning a piece of cinematic history. We’ve obsessed over even the smallest detail, so that every time you look at it, you discover something new”.
Superhero-inspired cars are nothing new in the industry, with the likes of Kia previously making numerous one-off promotional cars for the X Men movie franchise in 2015 and 2016.
As reported by Drive in 2015, the South Korean car maker transformed, or rather mutated, the Sorento to feature Wolverine-inspired designs on the car in the form of a custom body kit, and adamantium claws on the SUV’s front and rear bumpers, while the iconic ‘X’ logo was spotted on the car’s passenger-side doors.
A year later, Kia followed up with another X-Men-inspired car. Using the Sportage as the canvas, the car maker’s promotional vehicle drew inspiration from the shapeshifting mutant, Mystique.
The car’s blue patterned colour is derived from the iconic character, while X-motif bumpers and badges are also featured on the car.
Pictured above: 2015 Kia Sorento 'Wolverine' (left), 2016 Kia Sportage 'Mystique' (right)
Taking a page from its South Korean sibling, Hyundai also launched an Iron Man edition of the Kona back in 2019, with the small SUV featuring a range of Marvel-inspired cosmetic changes.
The 2019 Hyundai Kona Iron Man edition was limited to only 400 examples when it launched in Australia, with the car retailing for $AUD39,990 before on-road costs.
The inspiration from one of Marvel's biggest box office hits is seen in the car's dark grey and red paint, Iron Man mask motifs on the car's centre caps and seats, while the SUV's V-shaped bonnet features a Marvel logo.
Additionally, the car maker said an "arc reactor" emblem is seen on the TGS knob, while a Tony Stark autograph is displayed on the crash pad.
If you want to read Drive's full review of the 2019 Hyundai Kona Iron Man edition, visit our previous story here.
Ethan Cardinal graduated with a Journalism degree in 2020 from La Trobe University and has been working in the fashion industry as a freelance writer prior to joining Drive in 2023. Ethan greatly enjoys investigating and reporting on the cross sections between automotive, lifestyle and culture. Ethan relishes the opportunity to explore how deep cars are intertwined within different industries and how they could affect both casual readers and car enthusiasts.
