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This Batmobile Replica Is a 1965 Ford Mustang in Excellent Disguise, Road Legal

Earlier this month, Bonhams announced an upcoming auction that included one particular item of particular interest for any true Batman fan: a seemingly accurate replica of the iconic Tim Burton Batmobile, also known as the Keaton Mobile.
Exact Batmobile replica built on a 1965 Ford Mustang in the UK, 2016 17 photos
Photo: Bonhams
Exact Batmobile replica built on a 1965 Ford Mustang in the UK, 2016Exact Batmobile replica built on a 1965 Ford Mustang in the UK, 2016Exact Batmobile replica built on a 1965 Ford Mustang in the UK, 2016Exact Batmobile replica built on a 1965 Ford Mustang in the UK, 2016Exact Batmobile replica built on a 1965 Ford Mustang in the UK, 20161965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve1965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve1965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve1965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve1965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve1965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve1965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve1965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve1965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve1965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve1965 Ford Batmobile replica is coming up at auction, will sell at no reserve
At the time, few details were made public about the vehicle. Photos showed a Batmobile that seemed to stay true to the movie version, at least as far as the exterior was concerned. The auction house would only say that chassis no. 5Y85Z147490 was based on an old Ford, and that it would go under the hammer at the MPH March Auction in March 2021.

More details are now available, as well as interior photos (which you can see in the gallery above). Harry Fox-Edwards of Bonhams tells the Daily Mail that they’re “ridiculously excited” about the vehicle, which he describes as an exact replica that, to boot, is perfectly road legal. On the downside, it doesn’t sound like they started it up to see if it’s still running.

“I am ridiculously excited about this lot, it really is amazing,” the expert says. “Every kid wants to own an actual Batmobile and that's exactly what this is. Footage from the time [it was made] shows it being fired up on a rolling road so everything suggests that it will work just fine.”

“It also has number plates and a number of other features that would suggest to me that you would be allowed to drive it on the road,” Fox-Edwards adds. “It is absolutely vast and took us four hours just getting it off the lorry. I have never seen anything quite like it and it is so exciting to see how it gets on.”

The replica was built in 2016 by a specialist company in the UK, using a 1965 Ford Mustang as a donor vehicle. The black body was built on top of the Mustang, with considerable modifications to its interior. The publication mentions “an original 5.7L V8 engine” sitting under the hood, but if it’s original, it’s not original to the ‘65 ‘Stang, which came from the factory with a 4.7-liter as the top engine.

The total length is 23 feet (7 meters), so if anyone does dare to actually take it to the streets, good luck with taking turns and finding a parking space.

The exact replica is being offered by the London Motor Museum in Hillingdon, where it’d been kept on public display before “a row with local council” led to the permanent closure of the museum. As we noted on the previous occasion, when the auction goes live it will sell without reserve and is expected to fetch between £20,000 and £30,000 ($27,274 and $40,911).
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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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