The upcoming DC superhero movie The Flash (about a superhero who has the ability to take photos at night, if I recall correctly) is currently being shot in London, and a Jalopnik reader named JJ took some photos of the shoot for us, since they included a striking car. The car appears to be a 2017 Mercedes-Benz concept car, and, yes, it’s an amazing-looking car.
The scene was being shot in front of St.Paul’s Cathedral, and according to our reader on the scene, there were American-spec cars driving on the right side of the road, so the area is likely standing in for an American city, likely a fictional one like Gotham, which has similarly imposing architecture and the concept car has been reported to be Bruce Wayne/Batman’s car, a role that Michael Keaton is reprising for the movie.
But let’s get back to the car. It looks like it’s the Mercedes-Maybach 6 concept car, which was unveiled in 2016 at the Monterey Concours d’Elegance. A convertible version was shown the next year, which is the one that I think is actually used in the movie.
Our man in London also reported that the car didn’t seem to be moving under its own power, which is pretty on-brand for a one-off concept like this. Maybe it did once, but the drivetrains in these tend to be pretty rudimentary at best.
At first I thought the car was the red coupé, repainted or wrapped or whatever, but now that I look at the window line of the car it seems to be the cabriolet version, just fitted with a black hardtop:
The car looks blue in some lights, but is pretty close to black; I think the one seen in London retains the original paint, but it’s hard to tell.
This car feels like a very good choice for the situation and character; unquestionably high-tech and modern, but it has a lot of that heavy-sleek, gothic look with some 1930s Deco mixed in, all of which, when painted black, churns into one of the iconic Batman visual aesthetics.
The original concept had some pretty cool fitted luggage that slotted into special compartments under the hood:
I hope they’ll find an excuse to use those in the movie; maybe they’ll have a thrilling scene of Bruce Wayne having to pull those out open it to root through his underwear and free hotel shampoo bottles to find his wadded-up travel Batsuit, or something.
There’s also a full picnic set in there; maybe Batman will have to use some of those fancy spoons to fight off something, too.