by Gabrielle DeSantis

Why not take one of the more expensive Lamborghini cars available and make it into a Batmobile? Well, that’s exactly what happened with this Lamborghini Gallardo that one group turned into a Batmobile. That was all fun and games until it crashed in France somewhere.

Is the Batmobile a Lamborghini Gallardo?

A few years ago, Team Galag drove a Lamborghini Gallardo-based Batmobile in the Gumball 3000 Rally race. The team brought on designer and manufacture Caresto to build the Batmobile of the team’s dreams. The Drive notes that Caresto used a Lamborghini Gallardo drivetrain for the vehicle, a pretty wild base to start a car from.

This Gallardo had a 5.2L V10 engine that got around 560 hp. The Batmobile had a top speed of just around 200 miles per hour. The rest of the car was based on the Batmobile from the Arkham Knight video game. If that’s the case, the company nailed it. From the flat-black paint job and huge tires, it looks quite similar. One difference is that the Gallardo got some extra carbon fiber bodywork and extra electronics since this would actually be driven around.

According to Business Insider, Caresto actually used a computer to create a full-size car body model to recreate it correctly. The company made the entire thing out of carbon fiber to keep it more lightweight. It measured about 11 ft long by 8 ft wide.

What happened with the Lamborghini Gallardo Batmobile crash?

Since this wasn’t some random car hobbled together in a driveway, this one hurts. The Lamborghini Gallardo Batmobile got into an accident that ended the reign of this supercar. YouTuber Sebastian Delanney was the driver of the Batmobile at the time of the crash. The car and driver were on the way to a Cars and Coffee event in France at the time. In a wreck with a Renault Scenic, the Batmobile met its fate.

The good news is that since this Batmobile was actually made from a Gallardo and was built by professionals, it was a fairly solid car. It also had some tube frame to protect drivers and passengers, likely due to the nature of the Gumball Rally.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much information about what happened to the Batmobile after the accident. There is a bit of confusion based on what actually happened. Some folks say it was a low-speed accident at a stop sign. The photo above is not the result of such an accident. The photos show a pretty decimated front end on the Batmobile, which doesn’t add up.

The video where Delanney explains the accident is now private on his YouTube channel. The reports are all in French and don’t have much information. Where did it go? Why hasn’t the Batmobile been seen since that day? The Batmobile crash is surrounded by mystery, just as Batman would have wanted. Probably.

A new version of Batman’s car is on the way

There have been a lot of random vehicles that turned into Batmobiles. In 2016, Jeep ran a commercial for the new Renegade that played the Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice theme song. That wasn’t a Batmobile. In the original comic, the car was based on a 1936 Cord. The Batmobile changed as the comic moved through the decades.

With the new film titled The Batman slated to hit theaters next year, there is a new Batmobile on the way. It appears to be some mix of Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger, and Chevrolet Camaro all in one. It isn’t clear exactly what it is yet, but we expect it to be pretty cool.

RELATED: Florida Man Used $3.9M PPP Loan To Buy Lamborghini

The post That Looks Expensive: Lamborghini Gallardo-Based Batmobile Crash appeared first on MotorBiscuit.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Imagine that, Paris Hilton had a car that is expensive to maintain. Back in 2006, the Mercedes SLR McLaren was the perfect IT car for the IT girl. Remember that photo of Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Lindsay Lohan out for a night on the town? That was in this car. However, now that times have changed, what is it like to own an SLR McLaren as a normal person?

How much is a Mercedes SLR McLaren?

Back in the day, Motor1 says Ms. Paris Hilton paid about $460,000 for her brand new 2006 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. Motor1 noted that a similar 2006 model recently sold for $180,000 at an online auction. Checking CarGurus online, there are a few listed between anywhere from $295,000 and $335,000. DuPont Registry has some similarly priced vehicles.

If we base the depreciation values on the cited $180,000 SLR, the car has lost around $18,000 in value per year. Based on some of the more expensive options, it still lost around $11,000 per year.

Those who are out there buying an SLR McLaren probably are not concerned with the price of maintenance, but that doesn’t get any better. Since this car is hard to find and fairly expensive to start, the maintenance is quite astronomical.

Just how bad is the repair cost for the SLR?

When Hoovies Garage took this SLR in for service, the costs were pretty wild. The SLR needed a lot of maintenance and various things fixed because it is an older car. The SLR only had about 2,000 miles on it, but this was likely one of the first major services performed. And boy, did it need some services performed.

For the A service alone, it was $2,105. The shop wanted to put a power steering pump in it for $2,220 or a $6,270 steering rack to fix whatever issue the car was having.

The wipers were $105, likely the most reasonable item on the list. A used replacement for a bent front wheel was $1,899. Two new batteries needed a replacement for $1,350. Another piece under the hood, not specified, was $3,405. Replacing the weatherstripping was $1,350.

A replacement strut to help open those fancy doors costs $2,500. Brake line mounts were $1,300. A washer nozzle was $500. Some missing sensors cost $1,700. The fuel cap tether was $100. A tire fixing kit was $215. Brake caliper cooling ducts were $1,250. The shop replaced a rear differential drain plug piece for $850.

That doesn’t even count everything that needs to be replaced based on the length of time. A brake flush is $1,200. The rotors weren’t recommended for replacing but cost about $20,000. In total, it was about $34,000 for all of the bits and pieces needing replacement. The SLR only had about 2,000 miles on it, so this was likely one of the first major services performed.

How many Mercedes SLR McLaren were made?

The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren was a joint venture between Mercedes and McLaren from 2003 through 2009. It was the first car that AMG got to design on its own from the Mercedes AMG partnership. SLR, in this case, stood for “Sport Leicht Rennsport” (Sport Light Racing), according to Wikipedia. It was loosely based on the Mercedes 300 SLR, which was the official inspiration. Mercedes created only about 2,157.

So if this car was on your list of cars to buy, perhaps take it off the list. Unless you like $40,000 maintenance bills, which you might.

The post Paris Hilton’s Mercedes SLR McLaren Cost Over $40K for Service appeared first on MotorBiscuit.