In a reversal of recent motorcycle trends, a significant contributor to the two-wheeled television world is being honored by its four-wheeled cousins.

The designer of both Batman’s and Batgirl’s the bat-cycle from the popular 1960’s series as well as designing  some of Hollywood’s most recognizable custom cars, George Barris, ‘King of the Kustomizers,’ joins fellow automotive geniuses Jimmy Shine and “Mad Mike” Martin as judges for SPEED’s new all-star build show, Car Warriors, set to premiere Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. ET.

“The teams need to be prepared to work around the clock with little break. It’s tiresome… they are going to have coffee coming out of their ears in order to allow them to stay awake, focused and driven to win.”

The one-hour weekly series, shot on a purpose-built set developed on the grounds of Ted Moser’s famed Picture Car Warehouse in Northridge, Ca., features a hand-picked, eight-person All-Star automotive team taking on shops from around the country in a pressure-packed, 72-hour restoration project, matching wits, skills and stamina on a wide variety of vehicles. Barris, Shine and Martin review the results and determine the winning team.

“The time frame will be their biggest challenge,” Barris said. “The teams need to be prepared to work around the clock with little break. It’s tiresome… they are going to have coffee coming out of their ears in order to allow them to stay awake, focused and driven to win.”

Barris designs dominated 1960’s television. The Munsters, The Beverly Hillbillies, My Mother the Car, Mannix, The Good Guys and hundreds of TV specials were just a few of the Barris projects that generated millions of images and toy models of America’s best-loved cars. However, the most famous TV car in the entire world (even to this day) is Barris’ 1960s Batmobile, created for one of the most-beloved series of our time, Batman, with Adam West and Burt Ward.

The famous batcycle was built from a stock 1966 Yamaha Catalina 250 and featured aerodynamic fairings and fins which were not only more inline with the Batmobile but perfectly at home in the outlandish 1960's. The gimmick of Robin's sidecar being detachable so impressed the powers that be, it was written into the story and yet another facet to the Batman TV series was imprinted into the minds of the youthful viewing audience.

Barris’ client list reads like a stroll on Hollywood Boulevard’s Walk of Fame, as he has done custom work for John Wayne, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Beach Boys, Sonny & Cher, Sean Connery, Peter Fonda, Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

Joining Barris on the Car Warriors judging panel are Shine, lead builder at the world famous So-Cal Speed Shop, and Martin, the wiring magician from Galpin Auto Sports and the popular television series Pimp My Ride.