The most famous superhero car is the Batmobile, which some might say is the epitome of classic cars. However, there’s probably quite a bit you don’t know about Batman’s stunning getaway car.
The Batmobile got its beginnings as the Lincoln Futura, a product of Ford Motor Company. It was never mass-produced, yet Ford had high hopes for this futuristic vehicle. It was nineteen feet long, but the interior was only big enough for two people. The Futura might have had a promising future if the country had not been entering the biggest recession since the Great Depression. According to an article in the New York Times, automobile sales dropped by about one-third from 1957 to 1958.
In 1965, the television network ABC decided to move forward with the Batman series, and they needed a Batmobile. The Lincoln Future had everything they were looking for, and it was clear that it wasn’t going to make it into the hands of consumers. They purchased it from Ford for a dollar, and its transformation began.
Black and fluorescent red paint were used to detail the car as you saw it on the show, and many other upgrades were added to make the car appear more bat-like. When it was finished, it was only slightly recognizable as the Futura. It was a remarkable facelift and it remains a part of television history.
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