- Lincoln Futura
The Lincoln Futura was a
concept car designed by the Lincoln division ofFord Motor Company . It was built byGhia entirely by hand inItaly at a cost of $250,000 and displayed on theauto show circuit in 1955.Futura's styling was extravagantly impractical even by the standards of the '50s, with a double, clear-plastic canopy top, exaggerated hooded
headlight pods, and very large, outward-cantedtailfin s at both ends of the vehicle. Nevertheless, the Futura had a completepowertrain and was fully operable in contrast to many show cars then and now. Its original color was white, and was one of the firstPearlescent color treatments, using ground pearl to achieve the paint effect. The Futura was powered by a 368 cubic inch Lincoln engine and powertrain; thechassis was that of a Lincoln Mark II.The Futura was a success as a show car, garnering a great deal of favorable publicity for Ford. It was released as a model kit and a toy, and in a much more subdued form its headlight and tailfin motifs would appear on production Lincolns for 1956 and 1957. It even played a prominent part in a movie, 1959's "
It Started with a Kiss ," starringDebbie Reynolds andGlenn Ford . For the movie, it was painted red, as the pearlescent finish did not photograph well.After that, though, the car would logically have been forgotten and perhaps destroyed, as most show cars of that time were. However, it was somehow sold into the hands of George Barris, one of the great auto customizers. As the car was never titled and was therefore uninsurable, it was parked behind Barris' shop where it sat idle for several years and was allowed to deteriorate.
In 1966 Barris was requested to design a theme car for the "Batman"
television series , Barris then contracted stylistDean Jeffries to build a car for the show. Jeffries worked on the design and initial fabrication for the Batmobile, using a 1959 Cadillac, but when the studio wanted the car faster than he could deliver, he turned it back toGeorge Barris .St. Antoine, Arthur. - [http://www.motortrend.com/classic/features/c12_0511_dean_jeffries_interview/index.html "Interview: Dean Jeffries, Hollywood legend"] . - "Motor Trend Magazine"] 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 theBatmobile . Barris hired Bill Cushenberry to do the metal modifications to the car.Barris went on to build five duplicates for the show circuit, three of which are covered with a felt-like finish. For the filming of the Batman Series, Barris replaced the Lincoln frame and engine with 1966
Ford Galaxie parts.See also
* Ford Falcon
*Ford Fairmont
*Ford Futura
*Batmobile (Batman (1966 TV series)) References
External links
* [http://www.lincolnfutura.com LincolnFutura.com]
* [http://www.javelinamx.com/Batmobile/futura0.htm Designing the Futura]
* [http://www.1966batmobile.com/background.htm A very comprehensive Futura page]
* [http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&id=1800176801&cf=info&intl=us "It Started with a Kiss" at Yahoo movies]
* [http://www.cool-sf.co.uk/batmobile.htm Batmobile page showing model kit]
* [http://www.1966batmobile.com/toys.htm Futura/Batmobile toys]
* [http://www.filmmonthly.com/Profiles/Articles/GBarris/GBarris.html George Barris interview]
* [http://www.barris.com/gallery_cars/TV_MovieCars/gallery_batmobile.html Original Batmobile at Barris' own website]
* [http://www.volocars.com/attractions-hollywood.html Volo Auto Museum Hollywood collection page]
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