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TV Series "Batmobile vs. the Lincoln Futura
In 1955, the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company designed and built a futuristic concept car called the Lincoln Futura. It was the brainchild of Lincoln Mercury's postwar chief stylist, Bill Schmidt. Inspired by a scuba-diving encounter with a shark, Schmidt sketched a low, long, wide, and flat vision of the future with a predatory full width grille, ominously hooded headlights, and killer tail fins. It was built entirely by hand in Turin, Italy at a cost of $250,000, and like many concept cars, was never put in to production.
The Futura played a prominent part in the 1959 movie It Started with a Kiss, starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford. For the movie, it was painted red, as the pearlescent finish did not photograph well
After that, though, the car would have been forgotten and perhaps destroyed, as most show cars of that time were. However, it was sold into the hands of George Barris, an auto customizer. Despite the car's original cost of $250,000, the Lincoln Futura was sold to Barris for $1.00 and "other valuable consideration" by Ford Motor Company. As the car was never titled and was therefore uninsurable, it was parked behind Barris' shop where it sat idle for several years and was allowed to deteriorate.
Fast forward to August 1965, the Batman TV show producers approached George to have him build a new Batmobile for their upcoming show. The only catch was the car had to be ready for action in a mere three weeks. Seeing the bat-like qualities his Futura already had, George knew it was the perfect answer to the quandary 20th Century Fox had created.
In October of 1965, the Batmobile was completed and delivered to Fox where it made its television debut on January 12, 1966.
The car was such a huge success that George Barris and the producers of Batman decided to build copies of the Batmobile in late 1966. Barris and his crew pulled a mold from the #1 Batmobile and created 3 fiberglass copies on 1958 Thunderbird chassis. These replicas were displayed at car shows and dragstrips and also made appearances where countless fans could see them.
Over 45 years later the 1966 TV Batmobile is still one of the most iconic and popular cars in the world. Both of these diecasts are by Hot Wheels; Mr Barris only recently allowed models of the Futura to be made again, allowing us to compare his creation with the original Futura.
With a 227 inch length, 126 inch wheelbase, and 84.6 inch width it is a large car; only the 2002 Mighty F-350 Tonka concept truck and the largest Lincoln Continentals are the only vehicles that are longer.
TV Series "Batmobile vs. the Lincoln Futura
In 1955, the Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company designed and built a futuristic concept car called the Lincoln Futura. It was the brainchild of Lincoln Mercury's postwar chief stylist, Bill Schmidt. Inspired by a scuba-diving encounter with a shark, Schmidt sketched a low, long, wide, and flat vision of the future with a predatory full width grille, ominously hooded headlights, and killer tail fins. It was built entirely by hand in Turin, Italy at a cost of $250,000, and like many concept cars, was never put in to production.
The Futura played a prominent part in the 1959 movie It Started with a Kiss, starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford. For the movie, it was painted red, as the pearlescent finish did not photograph well
After that, though, the car would have been forgotten and perhaps destroyed, as most show cars of that time were. However, it was sold into the hands of George Barris, an auto customizer. Despite the car's original cost of $250,000, the Lincoln Futura was sold to Barris for $1.00 and "other valuable consideration" by Ford Motor Company. As the car was never titled and was therefore uninsurable, it was parked behind Barris' shop where it sat idle for several years and was allowed to deteriorate.
Fast forward to August 1965, the Batman TV show producers approached George to have him build a new Batmobile for their upcoming show. The only catch was the car had to be ready for action in a mere three weeks. Seeing the bat-like qualities his Futura already had, George knew it was the perfect answer to the quandary 20th Century Fox had created.
In October of 1965, the Batmobile was completed and delivered to Fox where it made its television debut on January 12, 1966.
The car was such a huge success that George Barris and the producers of Batman decided to build copies of the Batmobile in late 1966. Barris and his crew pulled a mold from the #1 Batmobile and created 3 fiberglass copies on 1958 Thunderbird chassis. These replicas were displayed at car shows and dragstrips and also made appearances where countless fans could see them.
Over 45 years later the 1966 TV Batmobile is still one of the most iconic and popular cars in the world. Both of these diecasts are by Hot Wheels; Mr Barris only recently allowed models of the Futura to be made again, allowing us to compare his creation with the original Futura.
With a 227 inch length, 126 inch wheelbase, and 84.6 inch width it is a large car; only the 2002 Mighty F-350 Tonka concept truck and the largest Lincoln Continentals are the only vehicles that are longer.