Subject: [Tigers] off Topic - Batmobile/Futura

From: "rande" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:26:21 -0500

I think it was TTAC (The Truth About Cars) site that did a recent discussion
of the Batmobile, part of it being someone was offering to make copies of it
for sale, and part of the response back from posters was a slam on George Barris
for his conversion of a FoMoCo prototype Lincoln Futura into Batman&Robin's
ride.

I should ask John how many versions Ford built of the Futura, as the most popular
photo is of the white car from around 1955-6, but in the Glenn Ford / Debbie
Reynolds 1959 film 'It Started with a Kiss', one of the stars of that film was
a red version of the Futura. Was there at least two cars, or just another paint
job for the only one?

At the time, and a little later, American manufacturers were prone to destroying
show cars when they were done with them, because even driveable cars weren't
deemed safe enough to sell to the public, so I was fine with Ford turning a
Futura over to Barris. Nowadays, folks like Chicago's Joe Bortz go out of their
way to find and restore old prototypes, while reassuring car makers that they
won't drive their prototypes to the supermarket. 
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From: "Dave Munroe" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:18:04 -0400

Hi Rande:

This topic caught my eye, and the process of destroying these one-off 
prototypes always curled my toes for some reason.

But the practice continues today, at least here in Canada with early issue 
homologation and show special motorcycles. I have a friend who owned an 
excavation company, so had access to many large pieces of heavy equipment. 
He had the contract a while back for destroying these otherwise brand new 
bikes, and as he was an avid biker, it pained him to do the job of trucking 
them to a landfill and driving over them with a D9 Cat.

Regarding the number and fate of the Lincoln Futuras, here is what Wikipedia 
says about it:

"In 1966 Barris was requested to design a theme car for the Batman 
television series. Originally the auto stylist Dean Jeffries was contracted 
to build the car for the show in late 1965, but when the studio wanted the 
car faster than he could deliver, the project was handed to Barris. With the 
short notice, Barris thought the Futura might work well, and using Jeffries 
initial car, decided that its unusual winged shape would be an ideal 
starting point for the Batmobile. Barris hired Bill Cushenberry to do the 
metal modifications to the car. Barris went on to build three fiberglass 
replicas using the frames and running gear from 1966 Ford Galaxie cars for 
the show circuit, three of which were covered with a felt-like flocking 
finish in the 1970s. Barris later acquired a fourth replica, a metal car 
built on a 1958 Thunderbird.
After its conversion to the Batmobile, Barris continued to retain ownership 
of the car, leasing it to the TV studio for filming. After production of the 
TV series ended, Barris continued to own the car, which was displayed in 
Barris' own museum in California. It has been displayed in the Cayman Motor 
Museum on Grand Cayman Island.

Barris is offering the Batmobile for sale to the highest bidder, during the 
Barrett-Jackson collector car auction, Saturday, January 19, 2013 in 
Scottsdale AZ."

From: "rande" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2013 10:26 AM
Subject: [Tigers] off Topic - Batmobile/Futura

[email-masked]

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:03:03 -0500 (EST)

This car sat out day and night in No Hollywood at the corner of Lankershim  
and Riverside. Guess George wanted someone to steal it.

In a message dated 1/18/2013 6:26:36 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
[email-masked] writes:

I think  it was TTAC (The Truth About Cars) site that did a recent 
discussion
of the  Batmobile, part of it being someone was offering to make copies of 
it
for  sale, and part of the response back from posters was a slam on George  
Barris
for his conversion of a FoMoCo prototype Lincoln Futura into  Batman&Robin's
ride.

I should ask John how many versions Ford  built of the Futura, as the most 
popular
photo is of the white car from  around 1955-6, but in the Glenn Ford / 
Debbie
Reynolds 1959 film 'It  Started with a Kiss', one of the stars of that film 
was
a red version of  the Futura. Was there at least two cars, or just another 
paint
job for the  only one?

At the time, and a little later, American manufacturers were  prone to 
destroying
show cars when they were done with them, because even  driveable cars 
weren't
deemed safe enough to sell to the public, so I was  fine with Ford turning a
Futura over to Barris. Nowadays, folks like  Chicago's Joe Bortz go out of 
their
way to find and restore old prototypes,  while reassuring car makers that 
they
won't drive their prototypes to the  supermarket.  
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From: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:13:53 -0500

and there it is, right inside the window on Google Earth.

https://plus.google.com/117510700539546497868/about?gl=US&hl=en-US&ved=0CAYQ2QY&sa=X&ei=XJ75UMmrA4m6twf80ICQBw

Michael Shortt

On Fri, Jan 18, 2013 at 2:03 PM, <[email-masked]> wrote:

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Michael L. Shortt
Savannah, Georgia
www.michaelshortt.com
[email-masked]
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