Lego vehicles will always get our attention here at MotorBiscuit. There is something about building a scale model of cars out of plastic bricks and pieces that is soothing to the gearhead soul. That is why we always keep an eye out for any new vehicle sets that Lego may quietly reveal.

Some Lego vehicle sets received significant fanfare on their release, such as the Lamborghini Sian Technic set and the Toyota GR Supra Speed Champions set. Others fly a bit under the radar. For example, Lego revealed that a new set based on the Tumbler from the Christopher Nolan Batman films is coming this year.

Batman Tumbler is a tank with wheels

First introduced in Batman Begins, the “Tumbler” was a new take on what audiences expect from a Batmobile. The Tumbler is a large, tank-like utilitarian vehicle rather than a campy muscle car as seen in the 60s Adam West Batman TV show or the iconic, sleek coupe seen in the 1989 Tim Burton Batman film. 

One of the most impressive things about the Tumbler is the fact that it was an actual vehicle. Warner Bros. used little to no CGI (computer-generated image) to create the vehicle that audiences saw on the silver screen. The Tumbler was built on a custom space-frame tube chassis with a bespoke suspension that allowed the Tumbler to land jumps off 6-foot ramps easily. The production crew equipped the tumbler with a 5.7 liter General Motors engine that made between 400 and 500 horsepower. 

As you can imagine, the jet engine in the back was made purely for movie magic and did not provide any thrust to propel the Tumbler. The flames were provided by a custom fuel line that fed an igniter mechanism.

According to an interview with Tech Radar, the production crew’s goal was to build a car that could reliably hit 60 mph, but once the Tumbler started coming together, they pushed that goal to 100 mph. 

Despite the Tumbler’s size, it could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under 6 seconds. 

LEGO DC Batman Batmobile Tumbler 

A brand new Batman Tumbler set was recently revealed on Lego’s website, but this is actually not the first time Lego has produced a set based on this vehicle. Back in 2008, a limited edition Batman Tumbler Lego set was released but quickly sold out. Collectors and Batman fans acquired Lego’s entire stock of the set in a matter of weeks. Since then, the set was not restocked until now.

This new Lego Batman Tumbler set is not simply a re-release of the previous set. Instead, it is a new version of the model entirely. On the outside, the old and new Batman Tumblers might look the same at first glance. Though, it appears that this new set will be slightly larger and possibly more detailed.

Whereas the 2008 Batman Tumbler set comprised 1,869 individual pieces, the new Lego Batman Tumbler is made up of 2,049 individual pieces. When comparing dimensions, the new Tumbler kit is at least an inch larger in each dimension (height, width, and length). 

The new Batman Tumbler is set to release November 1, 2021, but it is available for pre-order right now on Lego’s website.

This set will be the closest most people will come to owning their own real-life Batman Tumbler unless they have one heck of a project car in their garage.