The 1966 BATMOBILE, a STORY LIKE A COMIC STRIP. In January 12th, when 1966 the North American Televi

In the sixties, the guest villains wished it to be stolen from the dynamic duo, as it was the most frightful ally they had in their fight against crime. Today, the Batmobile is coveted and admired by collectors worldwide and its presence has stayed the same for the past four decades.

To the Batmobile, Robin!

In January 12th, when 1966 the North American Television Broadcasting Company ABC put in the air the

Very first Batman show starring Adam West and Burt Ward, simultaneously would appear in the screen the vehicle that would became one of the most famous automobiles in the world: The Batmobile.

Instantly, they were overthrown of that privilege the Sean Connery’s Aston Martin DB5 from the Goldfinger movie and the Volvo P-1800 that was driven with all the glamour by Sir Roger Moore in the Leslie Charteris novel “The Saint”, in the foggy London nights.

Although through the big screen we saw several different versions of the dynamic duo crime fighter car, the nostalgia lovers- in which I am included-adduce that the new Batmobile shapes are completely post-modern and aggressive, prefer the psicodelia and pop art that was so well shown in the TV series.

The flavor of the sixties was so well done, that one of the guest villains, Louis Lilac, portrayed by the popular Milton Berle, wanted to undress Gotham City from all its flowers… can you imagine such an argument in nowadays television?

But the truth is, the glorious sixties were left back and with it, has gone all the innocence of a series that in spite of constantly distinguishing the fight between the good and the bad, has never shown blood or a murder to pistol end.

In order to know the origins of the 1966 Bat mobile, we must travel back to 1955, when the Ford Motor Company displayed at the New York Central Park a Dream Car (the way the Concept Cars were therefore denominated in the fifties and sixties) that caused astonishment in the people that was walking in the area: the Lincoln Futura.

This vehicle was the creation of Turin’s based Ghia Design Studio pencil and its appearance produced in all the area a turnpike only comparable to the one from the famous New York’s November 9th, 1965 blackout.

But, after a series of successful show presentations and promotions, incredibly, the Futura went to forgetfulness and it had only one appearance in the motion picture “It Started with a Kiss “starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford.

Through the end of 1965, the famous customizer George Barris got a visit from William Dozier, who would be the executive producer of a new television project, and he asked Barris to create the vehicle that would become one of the five most famous cars in the world: The Batmobile.

This was not a new challenge for Barris, who already had created hundreds of cars, most of them for the motion picture industry and the television, like the Beverly Hillbillies 1921 & 1923 Oldsmobiles, (starring Buddy Ebsen), The Addams Family Packard Phaeton (Carolyn Jones and John Astin) and one of his most remembered creations: The Munsters Coach, the car used in “The Munsters” TV show, starring Ivonne Decarlo, Fred Gwynne and Al Lewis.

Barris was also worldwide famous for customizing cars for cinema stars private cars, as Clint Eastwood, Tony Curtis, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, David Carradine, Ursula Andress, Gene Barry, Jackie Coogan,etc.

Although Barris was identified immediately with the Batmobile project, at the beginning he misestimated the idea of embark in such a project, due to the time frame that Dozier gave him…only three weeks!

Suddenly, George remembered that the already one decade old Lincoln Futura was lying in a Ford’s Detroit warehouse completely covered with dust, therefore, he took a plane to the worldwide automobile capital, where he met Ford directors, explained the project, and offered to purchase the Dream Car.

The automobile company management acceded to Barris inquiry and in twenty days (October 11th, 1965) the Futura arrived to the 20th Century Fox television set transformed in the legend’s cap crusader car.

In just hours, Barris pencil changed the shape of the front and tail, and with just a couple of touches from the genius customizer, this sculpture on wheels was born. The car was fitted with the emergency bat turn lever, two parachutes, bat computer, bat phone, etc.

A real and amusing story happened to Barris himself, when he was testing the Batmobile at a Los Angeles freeway for a TV Guide magazine production, when suddenly, he activated the parachutes and they opened.

A police officer from the California highway Patrol was watching the scene, so he decided to pursuit the Batmobile forcing it to stop. The policeman asked for explanations and Barris couldn’t be more sincere with his answer: Well, officer, I am checking all the Batmobile equipment so it can help you in the crime fighting. The officer told Barris that with an answer like that; he can’t write a ticket…

The actual car, sadly for those who kept the illusion, is not powered by a turbine, underneath the voluminous hood, it hides a Ford engine.

During the very first day of shooting the series, Adam West was very lucky to leave unharmed, when the brakes of the Batmobile failed. Instantly, Barris was requested by Fox Studios to make four duplicates of the car, as the car being another member of the cast, in case of another failure, they would have to stop shooting the show.

Like a kind of “Riddle” for the most purists, when the Batmobile was activating the afterburner while Robin was saying the famous phrase “Atomic Batteries to Power, Turbines to Speed”, it could be detected five different license plates in different shows: 2F-3567 (the most popular), BAT 1, TP6597, ZEF-541 and 2EF-456.

If the Batmobile made history and it still shines today, forty years later with its own light, it is also because the show was far from the usual kind of films, in which nobody was shoot, and even the punches were hidden by the notorious POW!, ZZWAPP!, AIEEE! And ZOWIEE! That we used to put in practice the next day at school.

The audience was so big that for the actors, the place “to be in” was the portrait of a guest villain in the Batman TV show. It was said that even Frank Sinatra’s manager was trying to feature him in the show.

Big names of the screen portrayed the villains, as Cesar Romero (the authentic Joker for the sixties generation), Burgess Meredith (the Penguin), Frank Gorshin (no doubt, the best Riddler so far), Julie Newmar (there is no Catwoman like her!), Victor Buono (the voluminous King Tut), Vincent Price (the amazing Egghead), Shelley Winters (the irreverent Ma Parker), Otto Preminger (who would you prefer as Mr. Freeze, Arnold Schwarzenegger or him?),and many, many more…

They shot 120 episodes until March 14th, 1968, when the series was cancelled by ABC TV:”They came with a bulldozer and swept all the Batcave set”.

The Batmobile had such an influence in my life that I knew that someday I would own one. I started to search for one in 1987 and ten years later the dream became true. My Batmobile is powered by a 289 ci 1966 Mercury engine, and the chassis # matches with the engine. The funny part is that it was the only Batmobile with VIN registration outside the USA, as it was driven in the streets of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I use the Batmobile for charity events, especially for the Hollywood, Florida Police Department visiting schools and hospitals, and for the Broward County Sheriff Department.

It has been already more than four decades since its first television appearance, but the Batmobile nowadays still fights against crime as before and fill our hearts with good memories and emotions when leaving the Batcave and showing the famous sign: Gotham City 14 Miles”.

Now, we just have to wait for the next episode, in SAME BAT TIME, SAME BAT CHANNEL.