Original Batmobile from the 60’s TV Series Up for Auction

It's just one of those cars that every man has dreamed about... The Batmobile. Sure there have been several versions of the iconic ride; the missile-shaped wall-climbing armoured version that Michael Keaton commanded in the first two of Tim Burton's films vision. Then there was the subsequent flattened out shark-style from the next couple of films, and I know I'm trying to forget the horrendous 'Tumbler'; that tank-like gun-toting atrocity Christian Bale's sore-throat-suffering Batfreak careened through Gotham in... but none have the look, street cred and fame as the original from the 60's TV series.

Now, Batfiends, you can own it. The man responsible for designing and building The Batmobile is putting his prized creation up for auction on Jan. 19 at Barrett-Jackson, the Scottsdale, Ariz., rare and classic auto auction house. This is not just a replica of the most famous TV car of all time, but the actual original Batmobile created and owned by California car legend George Barris and driven by Adam West and Burt Ward in the series. This is the one, true Batmobile.

If you can't afford the real thing, you can check out a replica right in our own backyard; The Ellingson Classic Car Museum in Rogers has one on display.

Barris is no ordinary car designer. According to ShowRods.com, he was an avid model and toy collector himself, and started making hobby kits of his cars in 1957 for model -maker Revell. When AMT made a model kit of his 1960 Ala Kart, a whole line of kits mimicking Barris' award-winning custom cars began. His first TV creation came in the form of The Munster's Koach and Granpa's Dragula (or Rat U La), then The Beverly Hillbilly's Jalopy. But his most famous design to date is the never commercially produced1955 concept car Lincoln Futura re-imagined as The Dynamic Duo's villain vanquisher. He transformed the car in just 15 days for $15,000.

Since the cancellation of the series in 1968, Barris has kept the Caped Crusader's hot rod in his personal collection at his LA shop; Barris Kustom Industries.