Batman's Batpod Motorcycle Heads to Auction With $1.2 Million Estimate

The motorcycle that carried Batman across the big screen is going under the hammer, and it could cost a buyer as much as £900,000 ($1.2 million). The vehicle, known as the Batpod, is the headline item in a movie memorabilia auction being run by Propstore Auction.

The bike was used in Christopher Nolan's films "The Dark Knight" (2008) and "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), both of which starred Christian Bale as Batman. "It's a cracking thing," Stephen Lane, CEO and founder of Propstore, told CNN on Thursday.

Lane said the machine, nicknamed "The Beast," was designed by Nolan himself together with production designer Nathan Crowley. Chris Corbould, an Academy Award winner for visual effects, was then given the job of making it actually work. "It's actually quite a feat of engineering.. to actually have that thing practically working on set," Lane said, noting that the bike runs on a 750cc Honda engine and rides on what he described as "monstrous" 31-inch tires.

Riding it was another matter. "I know that it was a really, really tricky thing for the actors to sit on, but also the stunt guys to actually drive this practically as well," Lane said. He added that there were several incidents in which someone lost control of the Batpod, including one captured on video in which the vehicle "smashes into one of the cameras." "It basically sort of careers out of control and knocks the camera over," he said. "So I think it was a very, very tricky thing."

The bike is one of six that were built, but Lane said it is the only one that has been officially released by Warner Bros. Studios. "Vehicles like this are just so desirable because of their unique nature and because of their impressive aesthetic as well," he said, calling it "one of the most impressive looking and.. memorable, I would say, movie vehicles of all time."

Online bidding opened on Thursday and runs until December 4, when the sale concludes with a live auction in London.

The Batpod is being offered alongside hundreds of other pieces of movie history. Among them are two complete Batsuits, one worn by Bale in 2005's "Batman Begins" and another worn a decade earlier by Val Kilmer in "Batman Forever."

Other lots include the fedora and shirt worn by stuntman Vic Armstrong in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" (1984) and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989), as well as the sword used by Kit Harington's Jon Snow in the "Game of Thrones" television series. Freddy Krueger's glove is also up for sale and met its reserve price of £25,000 ($34,000) just a few hours after the auction went live.

Collectors and fans will be able to see the items in person before the sale closes. More than 100 lots will go on display at a preview exhibition at the Cumberland Hotel in London from November 19 to November 22.