The “Lincoln Futura” Batmobile – the first Batmobile used in the 1960’s Batman TV series

• News

Mar 31, 2016

In late 1965 20th Century Fox Television and William Dozier’s Greenway Productions contracted renowned Hollywood car customizer Dean Jeffries to design and build a “Batmobile” for their upcoming Batman TV series. He started customizing a 1959 Cadillac, but when the studio wanted the program on the air in January 1966, and therefore filming sooner than he could provide the car, Jeffries was paid off, and the project went to George Barris.

With the short notice, Barris thought the Futura might work well, and using Jeffries’s initial car, decided that its unusual winged shape would be an ideal starting point for the Batmobile. source

What became the iconic Batmobile used in the 1966–1968 live action television show and its film adaptation was a customized vehicle that originated as a one-off 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car, created by Ford Motor Company lead stylists Bill Schmidt, Doug Poole Sr., and John Najjar and their design team at the Lincoln Styling Department.

National Automobile Museum, Lake St, Reno, Nevada, USA. source

In 1954, the Futura prototype was built entirely by hand by the Ghia Body Works in Turin, Italy, at a reported cost of US$250,000—the equivalent of approximately US$2 million in 2009. It made its debut in a pearlescent Frost-Blue white paint on 8 January 1955 at the Chicago Auto Show. In 1959, sporting a fresh red paint job, the Futura was featured in the film It Started with a Kiss, starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford.

The body of the Futura was fabricated by Ghia of Italy, whose artisans hammered the car’s panels over logs and tree stumps carved as forms to create the sleek manta ray-like car. source

Barris was trying to get Hollywood’s attention with the Futura, which he had purchased from Ford for the nominal sum of $1.00 and “other valuable consideration”, but aside from its film appearance, the Futura had been languishing in his Hollywood shop for several years.

The Batmobile at the London 2014 Motor Expo at Canary Wharf. source

The Batmobile at the London 2014 Motor Expo at Canary Wharf. source

With only three weeks to finish the Batmobile (although in recent years Jeffries says that his car was dropped because he was told it was needed in “a week and a half”, he was quoted in 1988 as saying “three weeks” as well), Barris decided that, rather than building a car from scratch, it would be relatively easy to transform the distinctive Futura into the famous crime-fighting vehicle. Design work was conducted by Herb Grasse, working as an associate designer for Barris.

National Automobile Museum, Lake St, Reno, Nevada, USA. source

National Automobile Museum, Lake St, Reno, Nevada, USA. source 

Costing around $250,000, the 1955 Lincoln Futura was never initially intended to be the Batmobile, but when the car’s eventual owner George Barris was tasked with building a Batmobile for the TV show’s launch in a matter of weeks, he decided that the Futura could be modified into a Batmobile more easily than building one from scratch. source

Barris hired Bill Cushenbery to do the metal modifications to the car and its conversion into the Batmobile was completed in just three weeks, at a reported cost of US$30,000. They used the primer-painted, white-striped car in October 1965, for a network presentation reel. Shortly afterward, the car was painted gloss black with “fluorescent cerise” stripes. Barris retained ownership of the car, estimated to be worth $125,000 in 1966 dollars, leasing it to 20th Century Fox and Greenway Productions for use in the series.

Batmobile. A Special presentation of cars used in movies and television, New York. source

This Batmobile’s original gadgets included the nose-mounted chain slicer, lasers, rockets, an onboard telephone, radar, dash monitor, onboard computer, and police beacon. If needed, the Batmobile is capable of a quick 180° “bat-turn” thanks to two rear-mounted 10′ parachutes, and it is equipped with a smoke emitter and a nail spreader to discourage pursuit. Some changes were made during the run of the series, including different license plates, a change in  the steering wheel, and the addition of extra gadgets such as the rear-facing camera and battering ram.

The Batmobile at the London 2014 Motor Expo at Canary Wharf. Bat computer! source

San Diego Comic Con 2012. source

M-1 (Woodward Avenue) and Lincoln Street in Birmingham, Michigan during the Woodward Dream Cruise showing a replica Batmobile. source

When filming for the series began, several problems arose due to the car’s age: it overheated, the battery went dead, and the expensive Mickey Thompson tires kept blowing. By mid-season, the engine and transmission were replaced with those of a Ford Galaxie. The most frequent visual influence of this car is that later Batmobiles usually have a rear rocket thruster that fires as the car makes a fast start.

Batmobile sold at Barrett-Jackson auction for $4.2 million. source

In November 2012 Barris Kustom and George Barris announced the sale of the Batmobile at the Barrett-Jackson car show and auction held in Scottsdale, Arizona. The vehicle fetched $4.2 million on January 19th, 2013.