Chris Nolan/Nathan Crowley

When Christopher Nolan & Nathan Crowley set out to design the Batmobile for Batman Begins, they started by making mockups rather than drawings. This first design bears little resemblance to the car used on-screen, but the overall concept of a squat, powerful design with exposed front wheels is there.

The second Batman Begins prototype was the first model built as a Batmobile prototype. It was primarily built by combining elements from a Lamborghini Countach model (side panels, forward arms) and a P-38 Lightning (scoops, central cockpit). Though it still has a ways to go before it becomes the Tumbler as seen in the movie, the heritage is clear at this point.

The third prototype is a very nearly finished design. The forward mandibles are in their final configuration, and the sides and back look much like the finished piece. The only part of the Batmobile that changed dramatically after this point was the cockpit, which is shown here as a fighter-style design rather than the side-by-side design seen in the movie.