Introduced at the Detroit Auto Show in January, 1955, the Lincoln Futura stole the show. This fully-operational concept car was built by Ghia of Italy at a cost of $250,000. While the powertrain and chassis were pretty-much conventional Lincoln (although horsepower was claimed to be 330), the futuristic style of the car was anything but! With its twin-bubble Plexiglas cockpit, big fins, 27 exterior and interior lamps and blue-white pearlescent paint, the nineteen foot long Futura provided a breath of fresh air for the Lincoln brand and hinted at styles to come. The hooded headlight visors appeared in the 1956 Lincoln line; the big fins with triangular taillights were seen in the 1957 Lincoln models.

The car was displayed on the auto show circuit and was later used in the movie 'It Started With A Kiss' which starred Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds. The car was painted a bright red for the movie. Ownership of the car was later transferred to George Barris, the famous California car customizer, who turned it into the (POW! BIFF!) Batmobile for the '60s Batman TV series. Barris reshaped the hood, elongated the tailfins and fluted the ends of the fins to resemble bat wings. The car was repainted Bat Black with red trim. Five additional cars were replicated in fiberglass for TV stunt scenes and promotional tours.

As a point of comparison, the first "movie" Batmobile, built in 1989, was a polymer mock-up on a mid-'70s Chevy Impala frame. It was powered by a stock Chevrolet engine and was done on a mere $30,000 budget.

This proves, once again, that the old stuff is the best stuff!