History of the Batmobile

Most know that the TV series Batmobile started out as the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car. When the Ford Motor Company was finished with the Futura, George Barris purchased it from them for $1. The car sat at Barris' shop for some time until he was approached by a film studio to build a Batmobile for the TV series. He had only 3 weeks to make it before filming started. He decided that because of the short time he had to build it, it wasn't feasible to start from scratch so he decided to use the Futura as the base. Even so, he would still have to work around the clock to finish it in 3 weeks. He decided to bring in Bill Cushenbery to do the body work. Bill Cushenbery was a renowned customizer at the time who built the El Matador (this car was later made into a model car 1/25 by Star Models). Although Bill Cushenbery basically built the Batmobile, George Barris received the credit. The car was finished on schedule for filming. During filming it was discovered that the car being black did not show up well under the lights. That is when Barris decided to use florescent red paint to highlight the lines of the car so that it would show better.They actually used flocking paint on the car so that it would not be as reflective under the lights. There were 4 cars made for the TV series although one was never used during filming and became George Barris' personal car.The Lincoln Futura was made by HRN in 1/64 scale while the Batmobile was made by Hotwheels. I decided to use both to make a diorama.A Batman figurine and Bat logo was added.