1967-72, Corgi Batmobile, gloss black, with a towhook.

The distinguishing features of this version include a filled-in nostrils on the bat nose and taillights that are also completely filled in, the tail fin tips were shorter than on earlier versions.

The Car

I don't know when or for how long this final bat hub version was issued. I'm calling it the "1972" version because it almost certainly was sold in 1972 just prior to the 1973 version. But it may have been available earlier than 1972. But I don't think it was much earlier than 1972 because if it were available earlier, I think it would be more common. This car still featured bat hubs and a pulsating exhaust and it had essentially the same lower body molding as all previous versions. But in Corgi's continued efforts to lessen the detail in its Batmobiles, the upper body molding differed from it predecessors by having the tail lights completely filled in and the tips of the tail light fins were shorter than on earlier versions. This helped solve the problem of the tips bending and breaking off. Both nostrils on the front of the car were also filled in from this point on.

The fins were shortened because it was considered dangerous. The car to start with was meant as a collectors piece, but when it became obvious that a lot of parents were buying one for their children, they shortened them. Imagine an early Batmobile with long sharp fins in the face!!! OUCH!!! The rear and nose were also filled in for the same reasons, because it was considered too sharp on little fingers!! Kids have a tendency to try to put their fingers in little holes!! I've seen and own a lot of Batmobiles that have one nose filled in, fins long, rear half filled in and so on. The rear and the fins were at first the only ones to be considered very dangerous, one was half filled in the other shortened. When this proved inadequate, they filled in completely the back piece. With the nose, on a lot they simply missed the one side! Later versions show that they corrected this problem. This was also deemed too sharp for young children, and had to be filled in.

These body changes occurred very very late in the red hub no towhook version, as someone stupidly used the rejected parts (one nose filled in) and used the new style body shape (both noses filled in and tail lights filled) before the new red tyred (which it was intended for) because they'd run out of the old style.

So if you can find a red hubbed Batmobile with both noses filled in and the tail lights filled in you have a very rare type Batmobile on your hands!!

The red hubbed final version, which has both noses filled in and the taillights filled in occurred because they had no tops left, and still had a few pulsating exhausts and bat hubcaps and the bottoms. Corgi weren't one to waste parts, so simply used the new red tyred tops, and these numbers were very very small, maybe even as low as 50, so to find one mint is very very unlikely these days.

The Box

1970 Window box. Although this box itself shows a 1966 copyright, I call this a 1970 box because it almost certainly came out at the same time as the second version Gift Set 3 box which has a 1970 copyright on it. Both of these boxes show a similar revised color scheme and new style Corgi logo. Although I suspect a lot of Batmobiles were sold in this box, it is fairly rare now as people apparently didn't like saving it as much as the older fold-out display type. The rear of this box shows a picture of Batman apparently about to be run over by a Batmobile speeding out of the Batcave. An advantage of this box and all other window boxes is that it displays your car and protects it from dust. This box included the same envelope, purple & black instructions, feature leaflet, "Batman" badge, and red missiles as the earlier versions.

I know only 19 Batmobile like this,

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19)

Somes "Bat-Hub" final version in the same place!!!