If you are a pop culture fanatic, and you follow Comic-Con and the news about superheroes and villains, you surely know about the iconic Green Hornet Chrysler car nicknamed Black Beauty. This car is so famous that it competes with the Batmobile, the Fantasti-Car MK II and Scooby-Doo’s Mystery Machine for the award of the most timeless, iconic vehicle from the past.
Up to this point, the Black Beauty remains a pop icon that has hordes of fans, just like Optimus Prime, Automan and Knight Rider’s K.I.T.T. And while the world can’t decide which is the coolest, most frightening car in pop culture, we can all agree on the fact that the Black Beauty might be the nicest - looking one. In case you wonder what are the other qualities that differentiate the Black Beauty from its rivals, the sleek green headlights and the killer arsenal of crazy guns are just some of its competitive advantages.
The Insane Guns Arsenal That Came With The Black Beauty
Kato was lucky enough to drive the coolest car in the world, and he could enjoy all the gadgets that came with that superb machine. Interestingly enough, the Green Hornet, which was the protagonist, had more serious stuff on his plate and less fun, so he couldn’t enjoy the Black Beauty as much as his sidekick. Despite the shortcomings, both crime-fighting heroes could experiment with the machine guns, missiles and flamethrower. And while there are some differences between the TV series and the movie, and not all guns and gadgets are the same, the Black Beauty remained in both productions a frightening super car that can annihilate even the most dangerous enemies.
Some weapons installed on the Black Beauty were explosive charges, rockets with explosive warheads, gas nozzles, machine guns, missiles, flamethrower, shotguns and even a scanner that could be launched as a surveillance device. Most of these weapons were dispersed around the car and hidden in the strangest places. From guns camouflaged in the doors to missiles found in the front and rear bumper-this car was the most frightening vehicle in the superhero multiverse. As such it comes as no surprise that Kato (portrayed by Bruce Lee) martial arts moves were rarely necessarily, considering that the Black Beauty could annihilate any enemy by herself.
The Chrysler Imperial Crown
The original Black Beauty was a stunning 1965 Imperial Chrysler Crown that was refurbished and revamped for the role of her life. For the hit TV series that conquered the world in the mid-1960s, Dean Jeffries spent around $50,000 to transform an already gorgeous automobile into an iconic superhero car. According to Popular Mechanics, the team in charge of the refurbishing process painted the car with “30 coats of metal flake, pure black green pearl of essence lacquer hand-rubbed to a high gloss.” This work surely competes with Koenigsegg's Jesko hypercar, who has 34 layers of paint.
In 1992, Dan Goodman purchased “the primary” Black Beauty from a former Twentieth Century Fox executive and returned to Dean Jeffries for another round of reconditioning. Interestingly enough, the car which had only 17,000 miles on the odometer-nothing significant if we consider Chrysler manufactured the vehicle in the mid-1960s- was not in an excellent condition. Nowadays, the public can admire the Black Beauty thanks to the Petersen Automotive Museum collection.
The Black Beauty Is Better Than The Batmobile
These are important existential questions: “Is the Black Beauty better than the Batmobile?” And who would win in a fight between superheroes if the two most iconic super-rides would get involved?
Even fans of the two cars are conflicted because both vehicles outperform their rivals; thus, answers depend on the age of the respondents. Millennials are fans of the Batmobile because they grew up with Batman and the Joker, while their parents will probably choose the Black Beauty out of nostalgia. Despite antagonistic answers, we decided to go with Green Hornet’s Black Beauty because of the high-tech gadgets and lethal technology on board. They reminded us how much we enjoy a sleek James Bond-like car.
While Batman had a “no guns rule,” which meant no crazy missiles, killer weapons, warheads, and gas nozzles on his car, the Green Hornet did not abide by the same order; thus, the Black Beauty was transformed into something like a military vehicle that could counter any threat. It’s worth noting that Tim Burton's Batmobile came equipped with crazy dangerous weapons, but most fans were very displeased with Burton and disliked his aggressive vision of Gotham City. According to Batman fans, this vigilante can win any battle without lethal weapons, but that doesn't mean that his car will win in a battle against Green Hornet's Black Beauty.