Filed under: Convertible, Auctions, Ford, Lincoln, Celebrities, Specialty
Holy celebrity auction, Batman! The one and only original Batmobile, constructed by celebrity customizer George Barris, is slated to go up for auction at the Barret-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, AZ, on January 19, 2013.
While a great many replicas and copies of the Batmobile have been bought and sold, this particular machine has been owned by Barris since 1965, when he purchased the car on which it is based, the Lincoln Futura Concept from 1955, from Ford for the sum of one dollar. Money well spent, we'd say.
When Barris was approached to build the original Batmobile, he was reportedly given just 15 days and $15,000 to make it happen. With that kind of deadline, the Futura Concept, with its unique double-bubble roof and Ghia-styled bodywork, was an ideal starting point.
Barris added such iconic bits and pieces as "a nose-mounted aluminum Cable Cutter Blade, Bat Ray Projector, Anti-Theft Device, Detect-a-scope, Batscope, Bat Eye Switch, Antenna Activator, Police Band Cut-In Switch, Automatic Tire Inflation Device, Remote Batcomputer, the Batphone, Emergency Bat Turn Lever, Anti-Fire Activator, Bat Smoke, Bat Photoscope, and many other Bat gadgets," such as twin parachutes at the rear used to execute 180-degree turns.
Knowing the theatrics Barrett-Jackson typically employs with such celebrity cars, something tells us the Batmobile's next owner will meet plenty of Batmen, Batwomen, and Batcustomizers come January. Check out the Batmobile in the gallery above, and feel free to browse the press release and watch a bonus Barris and Batmobile video below.
Continue reading George Barris to sell original 1966 Batmobile at Barrett-Jackson [w/video]
George Barris to sell original 1966 Batmobile at Barrett-Jackson [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Nov 2012 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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