For the most part, Batmobiles numbers 2, 3 and 4 were constructed in an almost assembly line fashion, during the same period of time. The duplicate bodies were made from molds taken directly from the #1/Futura car and, thus, appear nearly identical to each other when first glanced at.
However, the intricate details of how these cars came to be have been twisted, hacked and butchered as much as the cars themselves! To summarize what I feel is the truth, I've read the articles available here, other articles found elsewhere, and I've sifted the many 'facts' offered to me by hundreds of Bat-fans that have visited this website...including a few of the owners of the real Batmobiles. Again, this is my own OPINION.
I believe that the #1 Batmobile is indeed the modified Lincoln Futura show car. Acquired by Barris thru his affiliations with Ford's 'Custom Cars Caravan' tour and his connections with 20th Century Fox.
Converted to Bat-use in about 3 weeks with the help of his own crew, and Bill Cushenbery, the car was 'marginal' in performance when at it's best. Repairs and rework were constant, but at NO time was another car built to stand in for #1 on film for the TV series or the Motion Picture. The additional THREE Batmobiles built by Barris Kustoms were built solely for national tours (i.e., money making). #2 and #3 did the regular 'show' circuit while #4 toured drag strips in exhibition competition with similar replicas of other famous cars, including the Green Hornet's 'Black Beauty'.
As the tours went on, the fiberglass bodies began to show stress cracks. At least two (#2 and #4, definately) were covered in black velvet 'BatFuzz' to conceal this damage, allowing them to continue touring.
And now the part that is most confusing. George Barris claims to have built the #5 car for use as a 'stunt car' in the 1966 film and then for the series before becoming a show car like it's sisters. However, another version I've heard says that while Barris was showing his 4 cars, another Batmobile was created by private owners and began being shown at events for a fee. The owners of the car had no permission to do so, and were sued by DC Comics and Barris. The resulting settlement meant the car would become the property of Barris, and was thereafter referred to as #5.
Eventually, Barris began selling the cars off thru auctions or privately arranged sales.
Currently-
The #1 car is still owned by Barris.
#2 is in Virginia, owned by Dr. David Anderson and displayed in his private garage for he and his family to enjoy, and has not been shown publicly since it's purchase.
#3 was sold in 1997 by the Branson, Missouri museum, 'Legends' (which has since closed) and is now owned and displayed by the Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.
#4 is (as of 12/12/98) owned by Ralph Spencer, of Jacksonville, Florida. He is the vice president of a mulch manufacturing company. He bought it so he could "pick up his son from school in it."!
#5 is owned by Scott Chinery of Dover Township, New Jersey and is still found appearing at local events.
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Here's a map of the USA showing the locations of the cars:
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/batmap1.jpg
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from: 'Barris TV and Movie Cars' Motorbook International, Osceola, Wisconsin
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/batbook1.jpg
Chapter Two:
Action and Adventure TV Shows and Movies.
BATMAN
By George Barris and David Fetherston
Action/adventure movies and TV shows, Two black-and-white movie serials, fifteen episodes each in 1943 and 1949. Television series ran from 1964-66; William Dozier, producer; ABC. Full-length movie in 1966. TV series starred: Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, Cesar Romero as the Joker and Frank Gorshin as the Riddler.
For imaginative children glued to their television screens during the mid-sixties, nothing captured their imaginations more than the Batmobile. When kids played with their Matchbox cars, they dreamed of this speeding black beauty as it exited the Batcave at top speed-complete with flames shooting from its exhaust nozzle and the turbine whine of its jet engine.
When the "caped-crusader" and his loyal sidekick, Robin, invaded the airwaves in 1964 [correction, early 1966], Batman became an instant success. Using a three- dimensional comic book style with tongue always in cheek, it was a high-camp hit that soon had kids all across the country strapping on utility belts and sliding down banisters. ABC Television arranged international distribution to Australia and England, and then licensed it for translation into Japanese, French, German, Italian, and other languages. In 1966, the first Batman motion picture was produced as a direct spin-off of the television show. It featured the Barris Batmobile.
The history of the Batmobile is a fun-filled and interesting story. Batman evolved from the forties' DC comic book cartoon character into a real life action TV hit of the sixties. In the comic book, Batman drove various automobiles--but mostly they were comically shaped and did not represent a production automobile. A befitting Batmobile was needed and Bob Kane, the originator and script writer of the TV show, had a big problem: time. ABC was starting production within twenty-one days! Bob called George Barris and presented him with the problem.
As the story goes, Barris had recently purchased the 1955 Lincoln Futura dream car from the Ford Motor Company after it had been used in the 1959 Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds movie 'It Started With a Kiss'. Designed by Lincoln-Mercury and built in Italy by the coachbuilder Ghia, the Futura was a great hit on the Ford show car circuit during the fifties. Barris came up with a concept using the Futura as the basis for the new Batmobile.
Unfortunately, Barris had less than three weeks to get the Batmobile designed, built and delivered. He spent an entire day at the drawing board refining his ideas and the following morning called Bob Kane to show him the sketches. Kane took the drawings to ABC Television and they gave the project the "thumbs up." With barely two weeks work time, Barris and his loyal crew of Bud Kunz and Les Tompkins began burning the midnight oil.
To create the Batmobile, the basic shape of the Futura was left as it was. However, the rest of the car received radical modifications. The nose and tail were completely reworked and the sides were changed so much that the original Futura was unrecognizable [to a blind person, maybe]. The nose was restyled with a bat theme: hooded headlights, a peaked nose, and nostril-like hood scoops. The hood was bubbled up as it pulled back from the twin nostril scoops. The "bat look" was continued in the design of the headlights, with "eyes" that pulled back into what appeared to be a pair of ears- bat ears! Following this theme, the twin-meshed grilles were crafted with round openings at the edges and a peaked tip in the center, joining to the lower edge of the opening like some kind of menacing animal's snout.
The radical refinements continued on the rear end: stock trim was either removed or molded in and a full-width, stamped mesh grille that matched the front treatment was installed. The fins were reshaped further and molded in for a cleaner look. On their leading edges, the upside down V-shaped air vents were closed off and the tips of the huge, 84in fins re- shaped with batwing tips. At the center an impressive exhaust nozzle for the turbine engine was mounted. Beside the gaping vent, a pair of 10ft diameter Deist "Batchutes" were mounted. When released, they shot back 25ft, popped open, and revealed a bold representation of the "bat signal" logo at their centers.
The fanciful features didn't end there: the Batmobile was designed to have an emergency turbine engine that exited in the middle of the rear bumper. This engine was supposed to give the Batmobile super powers, affording the ability to leap across chasms that might suddenly appear in the road while in hot pursuit of villains. In reality, Barris had installed a large, jet-styled exhaust that was more suitable for stunt work. The hollow tube allowed studio effects wizards to add sound effects and smoke bringing the jet turbine instantly to life.
The sides of the Lincoln were extensively reworked, too. The original featured semi- enclosed wheel wells with a broad molded panel running along the sides, Barris took a "gas ax" to the wheel openings and instantly changed the car's styling. He radiused each wheel and built in a flared 6in wide opening with a full-length side molding that gave the Batmobile a crisp straight edge. This edge was more of a ledge, providing a step for Batman and Robin to enter the car if they needed to leap in. The Plexiglas bubble top was retained but the center roof section was removed and replaced with an arched rollbar that carried a flashing light and twin antennae "for secure communications." Behind the cockpit were three rocket launchers that could fire smoking, explosive weapons at all villains in pursuit.
The interior was reconfigured with Batphones, antitheft devices, radios, a Batscope, escape tools, a Detect-a-scope, laser gun controls, and a remote camera with display screen. A pair of black Bat seats were installed along with Impact safety belts and a variety of flashing lights, as well as laser lights and weapons were installed and accessorized up front, in the rear, and on the interior of the vehicle. Finally, the exterior was painted a basic Bat black and trimmed with white and red pinstriping. To complete the look, a set of Rader cast-alloy five-spoke wheels capped with bright red bats were bolted on.
Ready for the premiere of the show and true to his word, Barris delivered the black beauty to ABC on time. The company was delighted with the results and production started immediately at Twentieth Century Fox studios in Burbank, California. Within a week of the vehicle's first appearance on the program, fan mail began pouring in and both ABC and Barris knew they had an immense hit on their hands. The Batmobile quickly rose to prominence to become the world's most famous and versatile custom car.
Over the next few years, the demand for exhibitions of the Batmobile dictated that Barris build five copies [actually three copies were made by Barris]. He drew a mold from the first car and built five [three] touring versions that have been seen by over ten million viewers throughout the years. Later, Barris created special finishes for the Batmobile for its cross- country tours. One car was completely flocked in black velvet and exhibited at the Petersen Publishing-sponsored "Motorama Cars of the Stars Museum" on Hollywood Boulevard.
In 1973, former Batman star Adam West toured the country with the Batmobile that became the centerpiece for a special showing at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. Since then, Batmobiles have traveled the world with exhibitions across Europe, Asia, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. The original Barris Batmobile still shines like the super car hero it really is. Every time it is shown, the crowds of fans eager to take a look at the most recognized car in history are proof alone that the Barris magic is timeless.
"I drove the world's most famous car.
It did its tricks because of my pal, George Barris-
Thanks, George."
Adam West
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/bkfut01.jpg
The Lincoln Futura was built in 1955 by Ghia in Italy to a design created by Lincoln-Mercury stylists in Dearborn, Michigan. The futuristic bubble-topped concept car was a big hit on the showcar circuit for several years after its release in 1955. Toward the latter part of the fifties, the car was used in the movie 'It Started with a Kiss', which was about an Air Force sergeant (Glenn Ford), his new bride (Debbie Reynolds), and a fabulous car, the Lincoln Futura.
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/bc1-9001.jpg
The Batmobile was everything the TV show producers wanted. Gotham City would never be the same again! The Batmobile had all the working wiz-bang gizmos the producers had begged for. It looked like the car that Batman would drive, and had enough pep, with its Lincoln V-8 engine, to make it faster than a flying bat. The Batmobile was also an instant hit with viewers of the new show and over the next thirty years it was made into dozens of different toy and model kits for kids worldwide to enjoy. George has over fifty different toy Batmobiles in his own collection.
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/bkbat01.jpg
Just before the show was released George was asked by TV GUIDE to do a publicly stunt with the Batmobile for the cover of the magazine. George drove the Batmobile down the Hollywood Freeway with the Batchutes fully opened into the wind behind the car, while the magazine photographer shot the photos from a freeway overpass. These days it would be an impossible task (except perhaps at 7A.M. on a Sunday morning) because of the traffic pressure on this freeway.
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/bc4drag2.jpg
The Batmobile was featured In many different scenes in the show and performed a huge variety of stunts; drag racing was among its activities. Here, at the famed old Irwindale Raceway, the Batmobile smokes the track with a full-blown cloud of movie smoke from tires and jet turbine exhaust. Stunts like this were faked with many types of movie tricks as the producers did not want to endanger or break anything on the Batmobile that would stop production [While the tire smoke is fake, this is the actual #4 drag car, which was routinely pounded at drag strips nationwide].
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/bc1-0001.jpg
The interior of the Batmobile was filled with crimefighting tools including a rocket launcher, Batphones, antitheft devices, radios, a Bat-scope, escape tools, a Detect- a-scope, laser gun controls, flashing lights, sound and weapon systems, and a remote TV camera and screen. The photo shows the interior of one of the second generation Batmobiles that George built as a back up for the show and to use on the show car circuit [Actually, it's the #4 drag car].
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/bkbat02.jpg
Stored in the Batcave, the Batmobile was always ready for instant use by the Dynamic Duo. Here Batman steps aboard without using the door.
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/bkbat03.jpg
The popularity of the show and the Batmobile necessitated George building a series of replicas to satisfy the growing requests from auto show promoter, museums, and movie events. From the original car he pulled a set of full body molds and made five show car versions. Here the crew works on finishing one of those cars in the back lot at the Barris shop. George can be seen working on the headlight. The remains of George's old X.P.A.K. 400 air car can be seen stacked up behind the Batmobile.
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/bkbat04.jpg
The Batcycle, by Richard Korkes at Korky's Kustom Studios, was built to go with the Batmobile and followed the Batmobile theme, including the graphics and body shapes. Not only did it have a sidecar for Robin, but Robin rode in a go-kart that could be launched from the sidecar.
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Scott Chinery
is young, rich and drives the Batmobile.
By Jo Astrid Glading
http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/chintxt1.jpg
Scott Chinery stands beside the Batmobile at his Dover Township, N.J. home.
He bought the super-hero chariot, one of two used in the 1960s television series,
[just the #1 car appeared on film, no others] for $180,000 last year [1989].
DOVER TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- Never mind how Scott Chinery made his money. Consider instead that he claims the largest collection of pre-Castro Cuban cigars this side of Havana.
He counts between 11,000 to 12,000 of them, some 30 to 40 different brands.
Add to that about l00 guitars, dozens of valuable watches, 14 expensive cars, up to 3,500 comic books - including first editions of Batman and Superman - and a Batmobile and a Batcycle with sidecar from the 1960s television series. The latter two items cost him $240,000, but with Batmania revived by the new movie he says he's been offered $2 million for the car alone. He isn't selling.
In short, Scott Chinery, a multimillionaire by age 29, is larger the life. In fact, he stands 6-6 and weighs in at 275 pounds. Shaking his hand is like grabbing hold of a small ham.
He'd be smaller today, but as a kid he wanted to be bigger, and a college football coach told him steroids would do it. He quickly added 25 more pounds of muscle to an already impressive frame. That's how he made his money, selling what he calls a safe alternative to steroids to others who, like him, wanted to be bigger than nature intended. The Batmobile investment brought him fame faster than steroids put muscles on a 98-pound weakling.
"Want to go for a ride in the Batmobile?" he offers- "You cay be Robin." A visitor to his palatial garage has to step past the Bentley convertible, the Rolls-Royce, the Lamborghini Countach and the 1958 Thunderbird before getting to the sleek, black piece of television Americana.
Tne Bentley; incidentally, sports a $40,000 sound system, the floor strewn with compact discs, including his favorites, the Judds. "I'm in love with Naomi Judd." he confesses. The rest of his cars, a mint condition 1962 VW bug and a 1961 Corvette among them are warehoused.
Tne Batmobile, Chinery's prize possession, still bears its "Gotham City" license plates. It's sister vehicle, the only other in existence, remains impounded in Australia where it was involved in an accident.
[OK, this is true if you only count the STEEL cars as 'real' Batmobiles. I count Chinery's car as LESS 'real' than the 3 fiberglass cars due to this car NOT being made by Barris, but opinions vary. : ) ]
But at the risk of disappointing middle-age Bat fans, [this] Batmobile is a stretch[ed] Thunderbird (14 inches longer), laden with what are nothing more than Bat props.
The red Bat Phone is just a metal facsimile held to the holder by a magnet. The Bat Chute is just a red button. So be the Bat Ram, the Bat Ray, the Bat Scanner, the Bat Detect-A-Scope and the automatic tire repair.
It's a virtual Bat sham. Only the television works, and it's black-and-white. New York developer Donald Trump called one day to ask for a ride in the Batmobile and Chinery agreed to a three-block spin from the Plaza Hotel to the Trump Tower, providing Trump returned the favor with a ride in his helicopter. As they soared over Manhattan, Chinery recounts, "He said, 'I'll show you what I own'," promptly pointing out just about everything in sight.
Now Chinery is ready to roll, but the Batmobile is out of gas. He runs down the battery trying to start it.
Like a kid with lots of toys but a short attention span, he moves on to other pursuits and asks his aides to push it out of the garage, pump some gas and give it a jump-start from the Batcycle
As Robin looks on, TVs Batman talks on the Bat Phone,
one of many Bat devices in the Batmobile.
A ruthless practical joker, Chinery's home security system has one camera trained on the front door. To torment visitors, he can hit a button next to his desk and spray the unsuspecting callers with water.
For his daughter's first birthday, he ordered a full-fledged circus for the back yard.
At the end of a national television interview, Chinery, in the midst of a divorce, confessed that being young and rich can get lonely, and what he'd really like to collect is a kind and loving wife.
He received more than 24,000 calls on a toll-free line. Callers were asked to send letters and pictures, and 12,000 did. Chinery talked to 1,200 of them by phone and had dates with 34. He's dated three of them more than once. His office is cluttered with the guitars - one belonged to rock star Rick Derringer and another to Eric Clapton - and he collects antique carnival games. A wooden Uncle Sam invites: "Shake with Uncle Sam. Only one cent. He will tell you the strength of your grip."
But Chinery's penchant for adolescent pursuits ends when he talks about steroids.
He said he and others he knew often took massive doses, downing a half bottle of black market steroids at a time.
"They were being misused then more than now, even though they're more widely used now," he said.
Normally easygoing, he recalls bouts of "roid rage," an uncharacteristic urge to destroy that often strikes steroid users.
When a neighbor in his college dormitory refused to turn down his music, "I ripped the Sheetrock down but I couldn't fit between the rafters. I went around through the door and then I pushed him through the ceiling."
The steroids wreaked havoc on his body: He landed in the hospital, ended a promising football career and dropped out of college.
Chinery came back with a vengeance. After spending years researching safe alternatives to steroids, he marketed his product called Cybergenics and quickly built a multimillion-dollar business.
He started out as a shoestring mail-order operation. Now he markets his product through 2,000 retail outlets in several countries. He sells a sophisticated blend of amino acids and a protein supplement, along with a workout guide and video - sort of a Jane Fonda of bodybuilding.
He lists a litany of nasty side effects that steroids can cause; liver damage, kidney damage, hair loss, enlarged breasts, impotence, high blood pressure. And he campaigns actively against them.
A handful of bodybuilding authorities say Chinery's product is a useful alternative to steroids.
Dominic Certo, former vice president of the International Federation of Body Building and a former Mr. North America, said the results at gyms have been good.
"I couldn't say scientifically that they're as effective as steroids. I could say they're the best alternative to taking Drugs," Certo said.
Robert Kennedy, publisher of the Toronto-based Muscle Mag International, agrees.
"It doesn't work like steroids," Kennedy says, "steroids work like a kind of magic. They'll kill you, of course, but the steroids will give you immediate size within a day or two. The muscles just become rock hard, and people get hooked on them."
Chinery knows the market to which he is appealing is a vulnerable one. "These people out there are so impressionable and so motivated- motivated to the point of obsession," he says.
These days, Chinery is flexing his financial muscles in other ventures. He's taken up charitable causes, working with epileptics and terminally ill Children.
He couldn't find a decent car stereo store, so he opened his own and installed a $40,000 sound system in his Bentley.
He loves a good cigar, so he markets his own line.
As he pulls out of his house in the Bentley, some teen-age girls are parked out front.
"Hi Scott," they say in unison.
"They're not groupies," shrugs Chinery, "I've got lots of groupies, but unfortunately, they're all skinny guys who want to be big"