An original Batmobile from 1992’s “Batman Returns” is heading for auction in L.A. Other lots offered in The Ultimate Batmobile Auction include props and costumes. If it sells for its $5-7 million estimate, this Batmobile will be the priciest one ever. Tim Burton’s 1989 “Batman” reboot and its 1992 sequel, “Batman Returns,” not only brought a more serious tone to the Caped Crusader franchise., but also a more serious set of wheels. Now, one of those Batmobile movie cars is heading for auction in Los Angeles, where it’s expected to sell for the kind of money even Bruce Wayne might struggle to put together. Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies have joined forces to sell this Batmobile at The Ultimate Batmobile Auction. This November event will also give fans the chance to buy props, costumes, and other artefacts from the Batman world, but the movie car definitely gets star billing. More: Warner Bros Is Building 10 Batman Tumblers, Each Priced At $2.99 Million The Burton Batmobiles were built around Chevy Impala bones that were stretched to give a huge 141 inch (3,580 mm) wheelbase and massive 260.7-inch (6,620 mm) overall length. Julian Caldow cooked up the look, which included huge a turbine-like intake in the nose and wings over each rear fender. Then John Evans’ special effects team at England’s Pinewood Studios translated the design to craft two fully driving cars complete with Chevy V8 power for the 1989 movie. When the sequel rolled around, producers contracted the building of three more Batmobiles to Carl Caspar, who had already made a name for himself by creating hot rods and replicas of TV movie cars, like the General Lee from “The Dukes of Hazzard,” for promotional tours. Big-Screen Close-Up Of those three cars reportedly made for the 1992 movie, the one being auctioned is claimed to be a hero car, meaning it saw plenty of close-up screen time. And that’s one of the reasons Julien’s estimates the Batmobile could sell for between $5 and $7 million when it crosses the auction block on November 23, according to the Robb Report. That’s even more than the $4.62 million paid in 2013 for the original 1966 Batmobile (though adjusted for inflation the oldie is worth more), and dwarfs the $3.71 somebody spent on Steve McQueen’s Bullitt Mustang in 2020. More: We Guarantee You’ve Never Seen A Mercedes Like This If it hits $7 million it would become the most valuable car ever created for a movie, nosing ahead of the Aston Martin DB5 used in the 1964 movie “Goldfinger.” That one changed hands for $6.4 million in 2019. But strictly speaking, the Batmobile still wouldn’t be the most expensive car ever to appear in a movie. What Makes A Movie Car? In 2016, one Ferrari collector paid $17.1 million for a 1961 California GT Spider that was the third wheel to Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in 1963’s “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” And a Porsche 917K and Ford GT40 from the 1970 movie “Le Mans” sold for $14 million and $11 million, while a 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra that starred in “Red Line 7000” achieved $7.25 million. But all of those cars would still be worth a heap even without the movie connection. Related: Porsche Built Three Real-Life 911s For Toy Story 5, And They’re Going To One Buyer You can check out the auction listing here, and see this very Batmobile in action in the YouTube montage of driving scenes from “Batman Returns” driving scenes” in the video below. Also, drop a comment to tell us which Batmobile is your favorite of all time. Julien’s
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