54 years ago Forrest Robinson and a friend got their hands on a 1956 Oldsmobile 88 frame and the famous 324 Rocket engine. The started custom-building from what ended up being the first officially licensed Batmobile. After laying abandoned in a New Hampshire field for 50 years, the car was carefully restored. It sold for $137,000 (EUR110,000) through Heritage Auctions on Saturday.
Robinson was 23 when he and his friend, Len Perham, begun building the car in the Robinson family barn. Although many people associate the Batmobile with the cars seen in recent Batman movies or late-60s Batman TV shows, Robinson’s earlier seems to be the original one, as it is considered “more authentic” by comic book lovers. It has features seen in DC’s Batman Comics from the 1940s and ‘50s, including the front-end bat-nose and rear-end single fin.
Robinson replaced the Oldsmobile body with his custom-designed body, measuring 17 feet (5 meter) by 83 inches (210cm), sporting the Batmobile’s iconic dorsal fin, bat-nose front end and pocket sliding doors. The Batmobile’s creator first used the vehicle for regular driving, but when Batmania started in earnest, the car caused such a sensation that All Star Dairies and its New Hampshire affiliate, Green Acres Ice Cream (a DC Comic Book licensee), leased it for promotional campaign.
Robinson sold it for $200
It was painted with the official Batman colors, badged with official Batman labels and it toured the Easter U.S. as “Batmna’s Batmobile”. Robinson got it back in 1966 but sold it soon after for $200, as he needed money to make his own business. A couple of years after the car ended up abandoned in New Hampshire field where it laid for almost 50 years.
After being discovered in 2008 by a local man and sold to a rare dealer in Chicago, it was bought by auto historian George Albright. As a meticulous researcher he discovered it’s entire story which he properly documented. In 2013, the unique car was purchased by Toy Car Exchange LLC and transported to Borbon Fabrications in Sacramento, California, a company that is specialized in vintage car restorations.
One year later the car would shine again and debuted at the renowned Sacramento Autoram indoor car show. Like we said, the car went under the hammer last Saturday and was sold for quite a small price, but there's no word on who the buyer is. We can only hope the car won’t be abandoned again.
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