Produced in a limited run of only 3,000 pieces, HotWheel's Super Elite 1966 Batmobile is a faithful miniature recreation of the vehicle that appeared in the original Adam West/Burt Ward TV series.
The 1/18th scale Super Elite 1966 Batmobile is loaded with features:
- Die-cast metal body, gloss black
- Opening hood, doors and trunk
- Metal parts include black seat belt buckles, front light grill covers, front grill screen, rear tail light grill covers, brass colored radar, parachute cable wires, siren lighting cover, rear silver speaker grills, door handles, door sill plates, window frames, red rockets and jet engine plates
Two soft goods parachutes- Flocked ABS interior
- Painted PVC seats, dash buttons and lever
- Black jet engine with stainless steel braided fuel lines and red & blue hose fittings
- Aluminum sheet display stand
An interesting bit of Batmobile history:
The Batmobile that was used in the 1966 TV series was actually based on a futuristic concept car made by the Ford Motor Company's Lincoln division in 1955. This vehicle, the Lincoln Futura, was built in Turin, Italy at a cost of $250,000 -- a fortune in 1955! But the Futura never went into production leaving the prototype languishing in the Ford warehouse for a decade.
In the mid-60s, the Futura was aquired from the Ford Motor Company by Barris Kustom City for the princely sum of $1! Although how that came to be is not entirely clear.
In 1965, Barris Kustom City was commissioned by the show's producers to come up with a Batmobile. And because they had to deliver the completed vehicle in 3 weeks, Barris Kustom decided to spray their Lincoln Futura black and adorn it with the now famous red pinstriping, siren, rocket exhaust and Bat logos. And the Batmobile was born!
HotWheels Super Elite 1966 TV Series Batmobile is available now at Bruce Toys & Collectibles!
