Holy mods, Batman

Take one 1978 Corvette, add high-density foam, fibreglass and shiny black superhero-grade paint. Tah-dah! You have yourself one Michael Keaton-era Batmobile.

This Batmobile is taxed and road-legal - in fact, the guy who built it drives it around his native Texas.

Is this cool? Cool, is it? Vote below…

American supercar too expensive to produce?

If rumours are to be believed, the eagerly anticipated Corvette ZR1 - the supercar which ripped the Nurburgring a new one earlier this year - may never hit showrooms. DigitalCorvettes.com claims that production has been suspended on the ZR1.

The reason? The ZR1 is nowhere near as profitable as the cheaper Corvette Z06 coupe, and so cash-strapped General Motors has decided to shelve the former and turn out more of the latter in a bid to cut costs. Seems like the ZR1 was the right car for GM, but at the wrong time.

The most unusual car crash you’ll see today

Ventura County, the US of A: the owner of this Mercedes E-Class must have got a pleasant shock when a Corvette C6 convertible rear-ended his vehicle in spectacular fashion.

Full marks to the Corvette’s structural designers for making a car that doesn’t buckle under the weight of a stodgy German saloon.

What a beautiful couple they make. Check out another picture (from the back, the way you like it) after the jump…

Sad motorsport farewell for actor-turned-racer

Legendary petrolhead Paul Newman took his GT1 Corvette out for a few laps earlier this month as he said goodbye to one of his greatest loves. The actor and former driver is terminally ill with lung cancer and is believed to have just weeks to live. Lime Rock Park race track in Connecticut was close for two hours so that Newman, aged 83, could take his race car out for the last time. His friends, family and race team mechanics were in attendance for Newman’s final race.

It is a sad story, but it is great that he has had a final blast at something which has undoubtedly given him a great deal of pleasure over the years. Our thoughts are, of course, with Newman and his family. There is a picture of him behind the wheel after the jump…

Finnish star doesn’t know where his new car is

In May we told you that Kimi had splashed out £200k on Sharon Stone’s Chevvy Corvette, in a Monaco charideeeee auction. It’s now almost August, and Kimi still hasn’t taken delivery of his new toy.

Hell, the Ferrari driver doesn’t even know where the ‘74 classic car is. He told Auto Motor und Sport:

“I haven’t got it yet… Honestly, I don’t even know where it is, whether I have to pick it up or if they are sending it to me.”

For all Kimi knows, Stone could have driven off in into the sunset, Thelma & Louise style, never to return.

Meet Bruce Wayne’s runaround

The Spadaconcept Codatronca is essentially based on a mundane Corvette, not that you’d know it. With its head-turning, stealth-bomber styling (imagine KITT and the Batmobile had a baby), it’s one of the most talked about supercars ever made. Indeed, it features in the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, as Bruce Wayne’s weekend drive.

The best thing about this vision in black is that it’s actually going into production, with 20 examples due to be built later this year/early 2009, reportedly priced around £250,000.

Stats and more pics below:

F1 world champ purchases Hollywood star’s barely used car

The most unlikely story to come out of Monaco this year was the news that Kimi Raikkonen spent €200,000 (!!) on Sharon Stone’s 1974 Corvette Stingray at the Amber fashion show auction, a star-studded charity event in support of Elton John’s AIDS Foundation.

The Stingray had just four miles on the clock - one careful lady owner indeed. Looks like Kimi picked up a bargain. If you want to know what a ‘74 Stingray looks like, click below: