Although many find the TV Batman of the sixties silly, it was the big launching point for many of us in terms of becoming life-long Bat-fans.
It’s important to remember that without the previous Batman, we wouldn’t have the darker Batman of today, because the modern Dark Knight is a reaction against people not taking the character seriously before.
Whatever fans think of the Batman show, I still enjoy it enormously, and it would also be nice to see it on DVD and Blu-Ray. (There’s reportedly a rights war between Fox, who did the TV show, and Warner Brothers, who currently own the character, that’s keeping this from happening). Still, if you love the 60’s Batman, you’ve got a shot at owning the Batmobile.
As The Wrap tells us, the original Batmobile is being auctioned on January 19, 2013 by Barrett-Jackson auction house this January in Scottsdale, Arizona. The auction house wouldn’t tell The Wrap what the starting asking price is, but it could end up going for “multiple millions.” The Batmobile was created by custom auto builder George Barris, who also built the Munsters dragster, Knight Rider, and James Dean’s custom Porsche Spyder that he famously crashed and died in.
The Batmobile that Barris created for the show is a 1955 Lincoln Futura, and it cost him $15,000 to make. It was in Barris’s garage all these years, and The Wrap tells us it’s still drivable, though it’s doubtful whoever buys it will actually drive it, but you never know. Personally, I’d take it at least for a little spin here and there just to do it, and to see people’s reactions as I’m cruising down the street.
As you know from reading TG, there’s been a number of expensive geek stuff up for sale these days, from your own Doctor Who Tardis, an Enterprise replica that costs 10K, a Game of Thrones throne priced at 30K, and Star Wars auctions where stuff from the original film has been going for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Again, if you’re a geek with the bucks, and you’re ready to step up to the plate, the original Batmobile could indeed be yours this January.
