Some movie cars are memorable enough that you can identify them from a silhouette alone, and the Batmobile driven by Michael Keaton’s Batman is firmly in that category.
Created for Tim Burton’s wonderfully strange vision of Gotham City, the long, low Batmobile became one of the defining movie cars of the early 1990s. Now, one of the real cars used on screen is looking for a new Batcave.
Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies are putting the screen-used Hero Batmobile from 1992’s Batman Returns up for auction on November 23. According to Julien’s, this will be the first time the car has ever crossed the auction block.
Buying it will require Bruce Wayne levels of disposable income, as Julien’s has given the Batmobile a $5 million to $7 million estimate, potentially putting a longstanding auction record within striking distance.
It Could Become The Most Expensive Batmobile Ever Sold
The benchmark belongs to another extremely famous Batmobile. Julien’s says George Barris’ original car from the 1966 Batman television series starring Adam West sold for $4.6 million in 2013.
If the Batman Returns car reaches even the lowest of its current estimate, it would comfortably surpass that figure. Of course, auction estimates aren’t guarantees, so we’ll have to wait until November to see whether collectors agree with the valuation.
There’s a strong argument for its significance. This is the Hero Batmobile from Batman Returns, the second and final movie to feature Keaton as Batman during Burton’s original run.
It’s Basically Two Chevy Impalas Underneath
The Batmobile’s dramatic body hides surprisingly ordinary Detroit hardware. Legendary custom-car builder Carl Casper constructed it around a chassis created by splicing together two Chevrolet Impalas.
A Chevrolet V8 provides the power, paired with a three-speed automatic transmission. The bodywork was largely sculpted by hand and stretches the finished car to over 19 feet long.
Its enormous rear fins, enclosed cockpit, turbine-like nose, and sweeping bodywork perfectly complemented Burton’s dark interpretation of Gotham.
The movie version was also depicted with some equipment that wasn’t necessarily road-legal, including armor, explosives, and extendable devices capable of dealing with inconvenient obstacles. Sadly, buying the real thing probably won’t give you access to Batman’s complete arsenal, so I don’t recommend that you use it to fight crime.
$7 Million For A Piece Of Gotham
The car has spent much of its post-Hollywood life in storage, although it has occasionally appeared publicly, including at the Marconi Automotive Museum. Its upcoming sale will put it alongside additional Batman costumes, props, and production artifacts as part of Julien’s Ultimate Batmobile Auction.
The event also coincides with the 60th anniversary year of the 1966 Batman television series, bringing together memorabilia spanning several generations of the character.
Whether someone actually pays $7 million remains to be seen, but if any movie car can persuade a wealthy Batman fan to illuminate the Bat-Signal above their bank account, I think Michael Keaton’s Batmobile has a pretty good shot.