Original 1966 Batmobile

The original 1966 Batmobile is headed to auction in Scottsdale, AZ on January 19, and we hopped down to Barris Kustoms in North Hollywood before the car left for good. George Barris has owned this particular car since 1965 when he bought it from Ford for the princely sum of $1. While it started life as the expensive and Italian-built 1955 Lincoln Futura Concept, the car would go on to worldwide fame after a hasty makeover from Barris. Over just three days, the custom car builder sank his teeth into the hand-hammered sheetmetal to create Batman's first Batmobile.

Up close, the car can't help but look cartoonish thanks to its over-the-top '60s design, but that doesn't diminish the car's presence. This is the car Adam West spent two years piloting around Gotham and matching wits with the city's cast of deviants. Very cool. We'll keep you posted on how the car performs when it rolls across the stage at Barret-Jackson Scottsdale next month.

In Detail: Original 1966 Batmobile on display ahead of sale at Barrett-Jackson originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 09 Dec 2012 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.