The very first officially licensed Batmobile ever made, a custom car built in 1963, will go under the hammer at Heritage Auctions. The opening bid will be set at $90,000 for the December auction, but the seller expects it may fetch as much as $500,000. Unlike all of the other Batmobiles, this car evokes the original design used in the 1940s comics: a massive center tail fin, long swooping lines, and a bat face for a front end. According to Heritage Auctions, the Batmobile was built and designed by 23-year-old Forrest Robinson in a barn in 1960, and was based on the body of a 1956 Oldsmobile 88.
It took three years to complete, and then the car spent three years traveling the country as a promotional vehicle, until it was replaced in 1966 by the Lincoln Futura from the TV show. The ’63 Batmobile was relegated to obscurity and spent nearly 50 years in a field before it was rediscovered and restored in 2008. Now it’s looking for a new owner.
