For a province that doesn’t exist within the DC Universe, Ontario has a peculiar number of 1:1 Batmobiles. There are at least two Keaton/Burton Era Batmobiles on the road, and soon, thanks to Fugitive Custom Cars, two West Era/Barris cars.
Contributing two to the local streets one might Fugtive is known for building “Star Cars”.
Jason Roberts is a hot rod guy, not a nerd like me, and when he started Fugitive Customs, his goal was to be involved in building as many high-quality vehicles as possible.
Jason Roberts is a hot rod guy, not a nerd like me, and when he started Fugitive Customs, his goal was to be involved in building as many high-quality vehicles as possible.
His friend Ian McIntosh however, he’s a nerd and the one that has commisioned Fugitive to build rowdy versions of popular cars.
I was first introduced to Fugitive Custom Cars on Instagram via a photo one of the two Batmobiles early on in the build process. I desperately tried to find more information about it and, at the time, not a lot more was to be found.
Last year at Motorama 2025 I learned what I saw as an earlier version of the car now known as ‘Bat-Gas’.
Done by another party, the first hand-formed aluminum body, wasn’t quite up to Fugitive standards. However, it was still very much a Batmobile, so the choice was made do something no one else would think to do. Build a 632-cubic-inch, 1000+ horsepower big block powered, Batmobile-shaped, ‘drag’ car.
There’s currently no intention to take Bat-Gas down the strip, but it does run, drive and burnout with ease.
Think of the car as a “fairground cruiser,” a concept popularized by the over-the-top Pro Street movement of the 80s and early 90s.
After the custom chassis was complete and the body was mounted, Fugtive commissioned Rollie Guertin to pinstripe the vehicle, and Bat-Gas was easily one of the most talked about and photographed builds of the Motorama 2025.
The black car, ‘Bruce’s Tow Vehicle’, is everything Bat Gas was originally intended to be: black, clean, low and fast.
Looking more like the screen car, on steroids, the Tow vehicle features a second hand-fabricated body, this time done by Vintage Tin and painted by Rich Refinishing.
Another custom chassis is employed, this one featuring Corvette front and rear sub-frames. Air suspension brings the flared fenders down over Radir wheels that hide a Wilwood brake setup.
The motor is a stroked Chevrolet LS1 V8 fit with a D-1SC Procharger dyoned at 853.7 HP.
While Bat Gas is generally considered finished, the black car still needed some buttoning up. I’m not totally sure if either will be at Motorama 2026, but considering the reception they received in 2025, I wouldn’t count them out.
Guess we’ll just have to tune in same Bat Time, same Bat channel March 13th, 14th and 15th.