Automotive

First known official Batmobile up for auction

First known official Batmobile up for auction
The 1963 Batmobile goes on auction next month
The 1963 Batmobile goes on auction next month
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The 1963 Batmobile started life as a Buick
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The 1963 Batmobile started life as a Buick
The 1963 Batmobile was designed to closely resemble to Batman's ride in the comics
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The 1963 Batmobile was designed to closely resemble to Batman's ride in the comics
The 1963 Batmobile has a bespoke body
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The 1963 Batmobile has a bespoke body
The 1963 Batmobile showing the "bat nose" front
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The 1963 Batmobile showing the "bat nose" front
The 1963 Batmobile predates the television Batmobile by three years
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The 1963 Batmobile predates the television Batmobile by three years
The 1963 Batmobile showing its rear fin
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The 1963 Batmobile showing its rear fin
The 1963 Batmobile was used to promote a DC licensed ice cream company
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The 1963 Batmobile was used to promote a DC licensed ice cream company
Rear details of the 1963 Batmobile
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Rear details of the 1963 Batmobile
The 1963 Batmobile's cockpit
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The 1963 Batmobile's cockpit
The 1963 Batmobile's engine was also restored
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The 1963 Batmobile's engine was also restored
The 1963 Batmobile detail
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The 1963 Batmobile detail
Dog going at the wheel of the 1963 batmobile
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Dog going at the wheel of the 1963 batmobile
The 1963 Batmobile was originally painted silver
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The 1963 Batmobile was originally painted silver
The 1963 Batmobile was created by Forrest Robinson
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The 1963 Batmobile was created by Forrest Robinson
Comedian Jay Leno sitting in the 1963 Batmobile
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Comedian Jay Leno sitting in the 1963 Batmobile
The 1963 Batmobile won first place in the hand-built sports car class at the Sacramento Autorama
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The 1963 Batmobile won first place in the hand-built sports car class at the Sacramento Autorama
Oblique view of the 1963 Batmobile
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Oblique view of the 1963 Batmobile
The 1963 Batmobile goes on auction next month
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The 1963 Batmobile goes on auction next month
View gallery - 18 images

Everyone knows what the original Batmobile was, right? It was the redesigned Lincoln Futura concept that Adam West drove in the 1966 Batman television series – or was it? It turns out that the earliest known officially licensed Batmobile was built in 1963 and is going to auction at Heritage Auctions next month after receiving extensive restoration.

Determining which was the first Batmobile is tricky. The first one in the comic books was a red convertible that graced the pages of Detective Comics in February 1941 and the first "real" Batmobile was a painfully ordinary off-the-peg 1939 Cadillac convertible used by the Caped Crusader in the 1943 serial. But it was in 1963 that the first known Batmobile that looked like something that Batman would drive was built and later given official approval by DC comics.

The 1963 Batmobile began life as a 1956 Oldsmobile 88 frame with a 324 Rocket engine. In 1960, 23-year old Batman fan Forrest Robinson along with his friend Len Perham decided to replace the body with something a bit more Batmanesque. It took until 1963 to complete the job, which turned out to be an open-top two-seater complete with a "bat nose," pocket side doors, and a single rear fin that made it look very much like the Batmobile seen in the comics, despite its silver paint job.

The 1963 Batmobile's cockpit
The 1963 Batmobile's cockpit

According to Heritage, Robinson used the car for his personal transport until the 1966 series and its Futura-derived Batmobile caught the public imagination. That was when All Star Dairies stepped in and leased Robinson's car as a promotional device for its New Hampshire affiliate, Green Acres Ice Cream, which was selling Batman-themed ice cream under a DC Comics license. The silver Batmobile was repainted in a Batman livery and decked out in official Batman badges. It may not have looked like the Futura and it didn't have a Bat Ray or Batcomputer, but it was close enough to the comic's version to be dubbed "Batman's Batmobile" as it traveled around the eastern United States until late 1966, when it was returned to Robinson.

Unfortunately, like a lot of movie & TV cars and other pop culture material, no one realized what the first Batmobile would mean to later collectors. It spent the next fifty years in neglect as it was sold by Robinson for US$200, then ended up rusting quietly in a field. Rediscovered in 2008, it was sold to a rare car dealer and swapped hands several times before being bought by Toy Car Exchange LLC, which commissioned Borbon Fabrications in Sacramento, California to restore it to its former glory right down to the frame and engine. It was exhibited at the Sacramento Autorama earlier this year, where it took first place in the hand-built sports car class.

The 1963 Batmobile goes on the block on December 6 at 11: am CST at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas, though internet bids will be accepted the night before. Bidding will start at US$90,000 – a figure well short of the US$4,620,000 fetched by the more familiar 1966 Batmobile in 2013, and not quite enough to make it onto our most expensive movie & TV cars and motorcycles list. We'll find out when the hammer falls.

Source: Heritage Auctions via Top Gear

View gallery - 18 images
7 comments
7 comments
Rehab
No real history for this, hope they at least receive an opening bid
Tom Lee Mullins
I think that is way cool. If I had the money, I would put a bid on it.
Radu Grozavescu
Looks like a old Tatra (Checz) car :)
Dave Brumley
It's certainly a beauty; and the engine! It's to die for, as the Joker might say...
Abby Normal
I want it! need to win the lotto first, though.
Bill Bennett
The angles on the front end view make me think sad.
Bella Vita
Here is the history on Wikipedia replete with Newspaper clippings from 1966 when it was toured as "Batman's Batmobile" as well a pictures of the car from 1966 when it was painted Batman comic book blue with 1966 era batman labels on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batmobile#Tour_car