The 1955 Lincoln Futura was a concept car designed by William (Bill) M. Schmidt, who designed for Ford, Packard, and Chrysler. It first premiered at the Chicago Auto show in January and went on to other shows in Detroit and New York. The concept car was painted red and given a red interior when it was used in the 1959 film It Started With a Kiss. The car was then sold to a man by the name of George Barris of the company Barris Kustom City – a company that specialized in customizing cars.

Since the car was just a model, it could not be insured, and so it sat behind his North Hollywood shop for several years before producer William Dozer approached Barris about the possibility of creating the Batmobile for the 1966 Batman television series. Barris used the Lincoln Futura as the car’s base, though both the interior and the exterior were heavily altered. The car finally appeared on television on January 12, 1966.

Several replicas were eventually made, though they were all taken from the mold of the first car. The original Batmobile went up for sale on January 19, 2013, where it sold for 4.2 million dollars. It was sold again privately for an undisclosed amount.

To learn more, visit The1966Batmobile.com

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