2008 Toyota TF108 and Dark Knight Batmobile

(from Toyota Press Release)  Panasonic Toyota Racing joins forces with The Dark Knight at Silverstone

Thanks to a partnership between Panasonic Toyota Racing and Warner Bros. Pictures, Hollywood is coming to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix weekend to celebrate the release of the event movie of the summer: The Dark Knight.

The much-anticipated film, which releases in cinemas across the UK on 25 July, is the follow up to the 2005 action hit Batman Begins. The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan and star Christian Bale, who again portrays the dual role of Bruce Wayne/Batman.

To mark the release of The Dark Knight, Panasonic Toyota Racing will adopt a new look at Silverstone this weekend. The Dark Knight artwork will feature on the TF108s and the overalls of Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock, as well as the team's motor home.

But The Dark Knight theme does not stop there. On show at Silverstone will be the iconic Batmobile and Bat-Pod vehicles, while some very special media events will bring the excitement of The Dark Knight to life.

The Batmobile will even take to the Silverstone track on Thursday evening for a demonstration run alongside the TF108, followed by some unique photo opportunities with the Bat-Pod and Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock.

The Dark Knight

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy Production, a Christopher Nolan film, The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Morgan Freeman. Nolan directed the film from a screenplay written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer. Charles Roven, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan are the producers, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De La Noy and Thomas Tull serving as executive producers. The Dark Knight is based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by Bob Kane.

The Dark Knight will be distributed worldwide in theatres and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

The Batmobile is around 3m at its widest point, 4.5m long and 1.5m high. It runs on unleaded fuel and weighs 2.5 tons. The vehicle has six wheels - two in the front, outfitted with sprint car race tires, and four at the back, which utilize monster truck tyres. The Batmobile has no front axle. The absence of a front axle enables the Batmobile to make extremely tight turns. It can jump 1.2m to 1.8m and has jumped a distance of 18m.