A Rare TV Batmobile Photo Survey
The 1966 Batmobile
Web site by: Phil
Broad
In 1966 the 20th Century Fox studios would produce smash-hit TV series based on the 1940s comic book super hero "Batman". This show, staring Adam West in the title role and Burt Ward as "Robin", would go on to become the "must work" series for nearly every top performer in Hollywood. Wildly satirical, this series would also develop a devoted cult following as well. Well acted and well produced, "Batman" proved just how entertaining "camp" could be. Like the starship "Enterprise" in Star Trek, Batman's transport became almost as important a character in the show as any of the actors. Simply called "The Batmobile", this car became an instantly recognizable symbol of the series. If featured "atomic batteries", "turbine engines" and an endless supply of crime fighting tools, each one more incredible than the last. It could do almost everything but talk and never needed a tune-up.
The Car
The real story of the Batmobile begins in 1955 when the Ford Motor Co. took delivery of their latest "car of the future", aptly named "The Futura". It was a 19 foot long two-seat grand touring car which featured instruments housed in the steering wheel, push button transmission, exterior microphones to pick up and transmit the sounds of traffic to the occupants inside and a host of other innovative devices. It was described as a "rolling laboratory" from which Ford would learn about new technology to apply to their production automobiles. The body was hand crafted by the Ghia Body Works in Turin, Italy and shipped back to the states onboard the ill fated cruise ship Andrea Dorea which would later sink after colliding with another ship (with still another custom car onboard). After its usefulness at Ford had finally come to an end it was put into storage to await an uncertain fate. At one point the car was brought out and leased to a motion picture company for use in the 1956 Glenn Ford / Debbie Reynolds film "It started with a kiss" where its gleaming white body was covered in red paint. That might have been the last time it was seen by the public if not for custom car builder George Barris who found it and purchased it. Years later, when he heard that Fox was going to be doing a Batman TV series where they needed an exotic car, he sketched out a version of the Futura with suitable "Bat" alterations and presented it to the producers. They agreed that it was what they were looking for and signed a contract stating that it would be available on a certain date, in full running condition. After all, it had to be shown hurtling down the streets at fantastic speeds to stop crimes in progress! That was the theory anyway...
The Futura in the Cave
The car was delivered and filming was to begin with stock shots of the car in action, driving down the highway, arriving at City Hall, leaving the "Bat Cave" and of course, entering the Bat Cave. However things started going wrong almost immediately. The car did not run well and was hard to start. The suspension was so bad that high speed cornering had to be shot at lower speed then the film artificially speeded up because the body would roll so severely that its drivers feared losing control of it. Not to mention that it was no hot rod, the huge car could barely get out of its own way. A memorable moment came when series star Adam West had to drive the car into the Bat Cave, screech to a halt then jump from the car and run towards the "Bat Poles". It seemed simple enough but when Mr. West stepped on the brakes he got the thrill of his life, they didn't work! The huge car began to slow down but not before crashing through the rock wall at the back of the "cave". After it came to rest the crew rushed over to the stricken "Batmobile" to find its driver miraculously unhurt, however the same could not be said of his costume. Finally the "straw that broke the camels back" came when the Futura's back literally did break, causing its driver more than just a little excitement! Inspection revealed that the car didn't really have a "chassis", instead it had a poorly built, welded metal frame work which had weakened considerably over the years until it finally failed. Fortunately no one was hurt but that was only because of dumb luck. At this point it was realized that the Futura was no "rolling laboratory", it was really little more than a rolling mock-up. The studio demanded that Mr. Barris rectify the situation and this is when it received a real automobile chassis, custom stretched to fit the big car. Finally the studio had a car which could be driven wherever and whenever they needed. And brakes that worked too!
Other Batmobiles
The show became extremely popular and this is when the studio decided to put the car on tour. Custom car shows were very popular and the Batmobile had already been featured in several magazines devoted to the subject. The only problem was that it was also needed most of the time at the studio for filming because half of the time the main characters appeared on screen, they were either entering or exiting the car. The answer was to build replicas of it specifically for exhibition. George Barris was hired to build three fiberglass copies, one of which would be built as a high performance hot rod for exhibition racing, complete with working "Bat Chutes". This car would go on to be featured in many hot rod magazines where they would print pictures of it on a drag strip racing other hot rods. A forth copy of the car would enter the scene as well when Mr. Barris discovered that a man had built a copy of the Batmobile which he was taking to car shows. As sole owner of the original car, George Barris saw this as an infringement on a design which he had patented and therefore began legal proceedings against the builder. The final outcome was that Mr. Barris took procession of replica which later was also displayed at car shows. Ultimately this copy was sold to custom car collector Bob Butts of Fantasy Cars in El Cajon CA.
Identifying the cars
All of the above means that it
is increasingly difficult to identify which car you are looking at in a
given photo. It is not impossible, just difficult. Identifying
the Futura can usually be done by looking at the interior dash board and
steering wheel. Only the Futura has instruments in the steering wheel
hub and a section missing from the wheel itself. From the outside
it can be identified by looking at the window frames and the headlight
covers. The frames around the windows are heavy metal castings on
the Futura whereas the copies usually have painted-on frames with thin
edge trimming. The headlights on the Futura were located in a slight
channel cut into the upper surface of the front bumper. This cut
out is visible in the close-ups of the nose of the car where it extendes
slightly past the lower edge of the grillwork covering the light.
This cut out is missing from the copies. The rotating beacon on top
of the central roll bar is another method of identification as the copies
had simplified versions of the cage and light.
Please contact me if you have comments about these images or corrections to the information presented here via E-Mail.