For immediate release

 

Contact: Brian Grams, director, Volo Auto Museum

815-385-3644; brian@volocars.com

 

Tumbler’s museum debut follows wild ride

 

VOLO — Transporting and preparing newly acquired vehicles for museum display is humdrum routine ops for the Volo Auto Museum — except when it isn’t. 

 

Take the Tumbler, for example. This 1-ton, 10-by-17-foot beast from the “Batman” Dark Knight series sparked easily the most dramatic of entrances for a Volo Auto Museum movie car yet. After nearly a year of renovations, a last-minute dash from New Jersey, and a 72-hour work frenzy to ready it for a planned sneak peek, those attending the Princesses and Superheroes event April 2 were gobsmacked. 

 

“This is rare,” said Brian Grams, director of the museum at 27582 Volo Village Road. “Not many people have ever seen a Tumbler in person. And a Tumbler on public view? That doesn’t exist.” 

 

But it does — or it will soon — at the Volo Auto Museum. After acquiring the chassis and a few broken exterior panels from the wrecked “Dark Knight Rises” stunt Tumbler last summer, Grams found a New Jersey man qualified to rebuild it. Originally set for a Labor Day unveiling, the date was pushed back to Halloween, then delayed again after Jay Ohrberg-trained car guru Paul Sher had a heart attack. 

 

Sher recovered and continued his work, recreating and attaching more than 16 exterior panels using pieces of wreckage, visuals gained from screen shots and a healthy dose of ingenuity. And, although Sher would have liked even more time, Grams declined Sher’s most recent deadline extension request. 

 

“We had let people know it would be here for April 3, so that wasn’t an option,” Grams said. “[Sher] worked on it all day Friday, then drove it here from New Jersey, showed up here at noon Saturday, and … we literally pulled it out of the shop with the paint still fresh for the event on Sunday.” 

 

In fact, Sher remained on the museum grounds April 5, adding more final touches to make the tank-like car utterly eye-popping for its April 15 introduction. 

 

“This really rounds out our Batmobile collection,” Grams said. “We have the ’60s TV series Batmobile, the late ’80s Tim Burton one and now the Tumbler. I can’t think of any other place that has three Batmobiles on display.”

 

The Volo Auto Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. It features roughly 400 classic, muscle, Hollywood cars and more. Admission is $15 for adults, $9 for children ages 5 to 12 and free for children 4 and younger. For other information, call 815-385-3644 or find Volo Auto Museum on Facebook.

 

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Photos attached

Suggested captions

 

5027: Paul Sher of Bridgewater, New Jersey, works to complete the finishing touches on a nearly year-long reconstruction of a screen-used Tumbler stunt vehicle. The Volo Auto Museum is adding the amazing car to its Batmobile collection. Originally done in a camo exterior, this 1-ton, 17-by-10-foot behemoth is from "The Dark Knight Rises." Visitors to the museum at 27582 Volo Village Road can view it starting mid-April.

 

5044: The Volo Auto Museum is adding the amazing Tumbler to its Batmobile collection. This 1-ton, 17-by-10-foot behemoth is reconstructed from the wreckage of a screen-used Tumbler stunt vehicle from "The Dark Knight Rises." Visitors to the museum at 27582 Volo Village Road can view it starting mid-April. Shown with the car are Paul Sher, left, and museum Director Brian Grams.

 

5049: Paul Sher of New Jersey works on finishing touches to a nearly year-long reconstruction project that will culminate in a new exhibit sure to please "Batman" fans. The latest addition to the Volo Auto Museum's Batmobile collection is a 1-ton, 17-by-10-foot Tumbler constructed from the remains of a wrecked stunt vehicle from "The Dark Knight Rises." Visitors to the museum at 27582 Volo Village Road can view it starting mid-April.