Holy High Style, Batman! It's a Bat Limo
The 1966 TV Batmobile is one of the most recognizable cars in the world. It was created by cars of the stars designer George Barris and was based off of a Lincoln concept car called the Futura. The aptly named Futura was supposed to be the future of the automobile industry. The car looked like a spaceship with a double, clear-plastic canopy top and low, sleek body shape. From the front, the hooded headlights and a grill made the car look like an animal ready to pounce. But what really caught Barris' eye were the exaggerated tail fins.
The Futura was hand-made in Italy and cost Ford $250,000 back in 1954. After the car made its debut at an auto show in Chicago, Barris bought it for $1. When he was asked to create a car for Batman's small screen revival on short notice, he paid out $30,000 to customize the Futura which included a coat of shiny black paint and hot, red piping.
The first time the world saw that Batmobile come zipping out of the Batcave, they were hooked. The car became a third character in the series and soon the toy companies were rushing to produce slot cars, models, die-casts and tin toy versions of this incredible vehicle. But for one lucky fan, owning a toy replica wasn't enough. Earlier this year, he paid $4.62 million at auction and became the proud owner of the actual Batmobile that was used in the series.
Forty years later, that classic Batmobile still gets people excited but it's no longer one of a kind. Thanks to the Batman movie revival, several other designers have taken a crack at recreating this classic.
Last year, Warner Brothers put together an exhibition of all five versions of the Batmobile (and one bat spin-off) at the San Diego Comic Con. In addition to the Barris' TV version they brought along:
Tim Burton's deco inspired vehicle from 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns with Michael Keaton.
The hot-rod inspired Batmobile from 1995's Batman Forever. This one has an extended fin and looks like a panther getting ready to pounce.
The largest and fastest Batmobile, which was driven by George Clooney in the 1997 film Batman & Robin.
The Tumblr from 2005's Batman Begins and 2008's The Dark Knight which looks more like an armored military vehicle than a sleek, crime fighting car.
All of the Batmobiles look great and they can't be beat when it comes to running down the bad guys – but what happens when Batman and Robin want to take their girls out on the town?
Simple. They just roll out the Bat Limo which was inspired by the car in Tim Burton's films. The car was spotted at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in New York and later driving down the Beltway in Washington D.C.. Obviously, Bruce Wayne was attending a charity gala before rushing off to stop a nefarious criminal in our nation's capital.
Next week, the Bat Limo will be on the move again as part of a traveling exhibition. Who does Bruce Wayne trust to get his precious vehicle to the event safely and on time? Global Auto Transportation. If we can handle the Batmobile, just imagine what we can do for you.
www.globalautotransportation.com
