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The iconic 1960s Batmobile driven by actor Adam West in the original TV Batman show has sold for $4.2m (£2.6m) at auction in the US.
The Batmobile design was based on a 1955 Lincoln Futura, a concept car built in Italy by the Ford Motor Company.
It was the first time that car had come up for public sale since it was bought in 1965 by car-customiser George Barris for a nominal fee of $1.
The car was bought by Rick Champagne, a logistics company owner from Phoenix, Arizona, who plans to keep the Batmobile as a centrepiece for his living room.
The 56-year-old, who was just 10 when the high-camp TV series began in 1966, said it ‘was a dream come true.’
Batman’s high-powered vehicle has taken many forms since its first appearance in 1939. But the first car to grab the public’s imagination and KAPOW! it was the 1955 Lincoln Futura, modded for the 1966-1968 television show to suit the world’s greatest detective.
The TV car was built from the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car, which [creator George] Barris had purchased years earlier from Ford for $1.
After the TV show ended in 1968, Barris kept the Batmobile, storing it at his north Hollywood custom-car shop and trailering it to auto events nationwide. This was the first time the Batmobile was ever put up for sale.
Champagne owns Champagne Logistics, which specializes in transportation services. But he insisted Batmobile will not become part of his fleet it – its destined for his living room in stately Champagne manor.
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