The Lincoln Futura Story: A Fascinating Journey From Innovative Concept to Batmobile

By the second half of the 1950s, promoting a carmaker's design and engineering potential through the introduction of an innovative one-off model became a trend, particularly among Detroit's Big Three.

In Dearborn, the home of the Ford Motor Company, management encouraged all design departments to put their most daring ideas on paper and create breathtaking concepts.

The Lincoln-Mercury's designers were among those who got to work, submitting several proposals. Of those, the most intriguing sketch was created by Bill Schmidt

Inspired by a shark

When he had some free time on his hands, the stylist traveled to the nearest shore to enjoy one of his favorite activities: diving.

During one of his dives, Schmidt had a close encounter with a huge shark, but rather than panicking, he stood till and admired the apex predator, who eventually swam away.

Back at the office, the encounter inspired him to sketch a car with aggressive lines and tailfins that emulated the beauty of the shark.

The design intrigued higher-ups, so Schmidt was teamed up with the great John Najjar, and the two stylists received the task of creating Lincoln's next show car.

Designed in the US, coachbuilt in Italy

The duo and a small team of apprentices put together a clay model in just a few months. Though it was much different than the original sketch, the car received several shark-inspired cues, such as the front grille or rear tailfins.

After the clay model got the thumbs up from management, Lincoln sent a prototype chassis, along with a 368-ci (6.0-liter) Y-block V8 mated to a three-speed Turbo Drive automatic to Italy, where the functional concept car was set to be assembled.

The renowned coachbuilder Carrozzeria Ghia handled this task. Its craftsmen handbuilt the complex body, including the dual bubble canopy, mated it to the chassis and drivetrain, applied an exquisite pearl white finish created by grinding and mixing genuine fish scales into the paint, and finally, shipped the car back to Detroit.

A successful concept car

Christened Futura after its futuristic looks, the coachbuilt one-off cost an estimated $250,000 ($2,778,998 in 2023 money) to develop, which, at the time, was a huge figure for a show car.

Nevertheless, after debuting at the 1955 Chicago Auto Show, Lincoln realized the project was worth every penny.

The public and the motoring press were in awe of the division's latest creation. The Futura was extensively covered in prestigious car magazines, and in no time, it was available to the public in scale model form.

Furthermore, several of its design cues made their way onto production models, most notably the first-generation Lincoln Premiere and the second-generation Lincoln Capri.

Moving to the big screen

After spending a few years on the auto show circuit, the Futura was retired and moved to a FoMoCo storage facility. However, since it was still very popular, the MGM film studio borrowed it for one of their movies.

Refreshed and repainted bright red, the concept car made its big screen debut in the 1959 romantic comedy, "It Started With a Kiss," where it co-starred alongside Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds.

In the movie, The Futura is a prize won by the protagonists, which ignites a series of events that make up the plot.

After the filming concluded, the red Futura appeared in some of the corporation's commercials, then went into storage again. However, its acting career was far from over.

Becoming the most popular Batmobile

This time, the concept car didn't spend too much time in a storage facility, as famed custom car builder George Barris convinced the company to sell it to him.

Barris wanted to transform the Futura into a crazy custom car, but since he was busy with other projects, the car sat behind his shop for years, gathering dust and rusting away.

Then, in 1965, the customizer was approached by producer William Dozier, who needed a Batmobile for the upcoming Batman TV series.

With just three weeks to spare, Barris dusted off the Futura, restored it, and modified it to look more like a bat than a shark.

Painted gloss black with red accents, the car was delivered in time, and after the series debuted in 1966, it became an instant hit.

Though other breathtaking Batmobiles were created in the following decades, neither became as famous as the Futura-based car.

Purchased for a dollar, sold for millions

Legend has it that, despite the massive development cost, the one-off was sold to Barris for the symbolic sum of $1.

After appearing in the TV series and subsequent movie, the car became so iconic that wealthy enthusiasts tried to convince Barris to sell them the original Batmobile, offering huge amounts of cash.

Nevertheless, the famous custom car builder held on to the car but developed some fiberglass replicas for those who desperately wanted one.

In 2013, the 87-year-old Barris finally decided to part ways with the iconic vehicle and auctioned it at a Barrett-Jackson event. After a heated battle of bids, Rick Champagne, a wealthy Arizona industrialist, became the car's new owner in exchange for a (then) record-breaking $4.62 million.

Today, the original Lincoln Futura and even the 1960s Batmobile have been unfairly forgotten by younger enthusiasts. Though none of the car's famous forms are mind-blowing by 21st-century standards, its fascinating story remains unparalleled.

You can watch rare footage of the original 1955 concept in the YouTube video below by Story Cars.