The Batmobile was designed around a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car.  The car was first seen in the Chicago Auto Show in 1955, where it was painted pearlescent white.  It had been built by hand in Turin, Italy to the tune of $250,000.  It made its film debut in the 1959 feature, “It Started with a Kiss”.  Dean Jeffries was originally hired to build the Batmobile, but when production moved up by a number of weeks, he was unable to complete the job.  George Barris agreed to make it, but with only three weeks in which to complete the job, he decided to outfit a car that was already in his shop, and which he thought might become a hit in Hollywood.  He designed the Batmobile around the Lincoln Futura that had been sitting in his shop for years, and the legend was born.  Unfortunately, the car was plagued with issues during initial filming, and production ended up replacing much of the engine and transmission with Ford Galaxie parts, but the overall design remained.  The car George Barris bought for $1.00 is now worth closer to $2 million.  If you have that kind of cash kicking around, a little bit of Bat history can be yours.