Image via Barrett-Jackson
While we know some people adore the Adam West Batman television show and especially love that version of the Batmobile, hearing that one of the original cars sold for almost half a million dollars is surprising. After all, we know what kinds of vehicles you can buy with that kind of cash, so to say the classic TV vehicle is of the same value is amazing.
Learn about Batman’s monster truck version of the Batmobile.
Originally built by Barris Kustom City back in November 1966, this and the other Batmobiles were used for filming the ABC television show as well as Batman: The Movie and displayed during various promotional events.
This particular one is the third one made for the campy interpretation of The Dark Knight, something that people seemed to either love or absolutely hate. But enough people have fond memories of the show that when the Barris Batmobile crossed the auction block it snagged a high bid of $495,000.
Even some people who hate the Adam West show love the Barris version of the Batmobile. The design was inspired by the futuristic-looking Lincoln Futura concept car built by Ghia back in 1955, over a decade before.
In fact, George Barris had the Futura concept in his possession at the time since he bought it directly from Ford, using that to make the first car. He was able to whip together the Batmobile in only two weeks’ time, which is why he got the job and not Dean Jeffries, who was originally approached by the studio.
Once studio executives were onboard with the Barris design, he fashioned the other Batmobiles using 1966 Ford Galaxies, putting fiberglass bodies onto the chassis.
After the TV series and movie were wrapped up, this particular Batmobile, number three, was kept in the Imperial Palace collection located in Las Vegas before being sold to Dr. Stewart Berkowitz in 2011. The man’s extensive collection of TV and movie cars, plus some reproductions, were sold off at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2025 auction.
If you think almost half a million is too much to pay for this Batmobile, keep in mind number one was sold at Barret-Jackson in 2013 for a whopping $4.62 million.
See this Batmobile’s lot listing here.
Images via Barrett-Jackson
