Lincoln Futura. (Photos courtesy of Ford and Toy Car Exchange LLC.)
When you hear the word “Batmobile,” you probably think of the 1966 car produced by George Barris, the famed Hollywood car builder. Actually, that particular Batmobile was not so much built, as slightly customized from the one-off Lincoln Futura concept car. Before Barris touched it, the Futura already had its unique double clear-plastic canopy tops, a stylized flourish created by Ford designers, and built by Ghia in Turin, Italy, in 1955.
Barris had bought the Futura for one dollar—after Ford reportedly paid $250,000 (millions of dollars in today’s money) to build it for auto shows, and then discard the design. The Futura was languishing in Barris’s shop for a number of years when he got the assignment to produce a Batmobile for the Batman television series. Under a tight deadline, Barris took about three weeks to adapt the Futura into the iconic Batmobile.
To my eyes, it looks like Barris and his team of professionals simply modified the front grille, wheel wells, and added prop-like faux accents. Don’t get me wrong: it’s awesome and important, as evidenced by the $4.2 million it fetched in auction in January 2013. However, it’s neither the first Batmobile, or in my mind, the purest expression of automotive Batmania. That distinction goes to Forrest Robinson’s original ground-up 1959-1963 design, an extraordinary vehicle up for auction on eBay starting July 4.
George Barris’s 1966 Batmobile, modified from the 1955 Lincoln Futura.
Seven Years Earlier in New Hampshire
From the first depictions of Batman’s car in DC Comics in the early 1940s to the fantastical armored military renditions in recent films, the Batmobile has taken on numerous forms, colors, shapes, and features. Most have been the work of big firms with corporate-sized budgets aimed at aggressive mass-market appeal, as opposed to the work of lonely gearhead-artists, such as Robinson—and Mario Borbon, who would restore the car in 2014.
Forrest Robinson with his creation, in 1966.
While Barris’s design became a superstar in the 1966-1968 television series, Robinson’s car was rusting in a field in New Hampshire, where it sat for about 50 years.
Last year, Robinson recounted the story of the car to a local newspaper in Southwest New Hampshire. In 1959, the comic book fan and lifelong machinist was in his early 20s, wondering what he could make using space-age fiberglass. “I wanted to make something and I figured why not make a car?” said Robinson. Using comic book images of the Batmobile as his guide, Robinson created an original body—complete with a dorsal fin in back and Bat nose on the front—and mounted it to a 1956 Oldsmobile 88 chassis powered by a 324 Olds Rocket engine.
The long-abandoned 1963 Batmobile.
Robinson completed the car in 1963, left it unpainted, and used it for a short time as his daily driver. In 1966, after he returned home from the army, he needed money. Robinson rented it to All Star Dairies Affiliate, a DC Comics licensee. That’s when it was painted for the first time in comic book blue Batman colors, and decorated with decals, for promoting a line of Batman ice cream and drinks. By 1967, now running his own machine shop, Robinson sold it to a local man for less than $200. The 1963 Batmobile was the only car that Forrest ever designed or built.
Overdue Respect for an American Original
Fast-forward to 2008. The forgotten and neglected Batmobile was dug out of the woods and sold on eBay. After it got passed to a number of owners, it went back on eBay, when it was acquired by a New York couple, Alicia and Sid Belzberg, through their company Toy Car Exchange.
The Belzberg’s sent it to Mario Borbon, a car fabricator in Sacramento, Calif. for restoration. “We purchased the car because we knew Mario could restore it. He’s resourceful, very creative and a great mechanic,” said Alicia Belzberg.
Mario Borbon restoring the 1963 Batmobile, more than 50 years after its creation.
Borbon felt a connection with the car and its creator. “Forrest Robinson wasn’t very wealthy. He was a young kid,” said Borbon. “He had a welder, a grinder, and some hand tools. That’s all he had.”
While George Barris had a bustling Hollywood operation, and worked on the Futura-based Batmobile for three weeks, Robinson toiled for three years to create his Batmobile. In 2014, Borbon took another 10 months and 26 days of round-the-clock mostly solo work to bring the Robinson Batmobile back to life.
“Although it’s just a car, it’s something that I became very close to,” said Borbon. “It wasn’t like restoring a 356 Porsche or 1970 Charger. I had to do a lot of things that weren’t done the first time, and maybe make some things better.”
Perhaps the model should be called the Robinson-Borbon 1963 Batmobile. Regardless, it’s now being auctioned on eBay starting on American Independence Day. Ten percent of the sale will benefit Make-A-Wish America. At last, the first Batmobile and its talented creators will take their rightful place in American history.
See Batman Diecast & Toy Vehicles for sale on eBay.
