Batman’s car collection is about to lose a centerpiece. Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies have announced that the hero Batmobile from the 1992 film Batman Returns will be offered at auction for the first time on Nov. 23. Julien’s estimates the car will bring $5 million to $7 million. That is a lot of money for a vehicle with limited trunk space, but this one has an extraordinary résumé.
According to the auction announcement, this is the No. 1 hero car used in Tim Burton’s film, and Julien’s says it can be matched to the majority of the movie’s driving sequences. It is one of three vehicles Carl Casper and Hollywood Productions were commissioned to build for Batman Returns. The design followed the Batmobile introduced in Burton’s 1989 Batman, developed under production designer Anton Furst with concept designs and illustrations by Julian Caldow.
Underneath that unmistakable body is some decidedly earthly automotive hardware. Julien’s says the car measures about 19 feet, 8 inches long and uses two Chevrolet Impala chassis spliced together beneath a custom fiberglass body. A Chevrolet V8 sits under the one-piece front end, paired with a three-speed automatic transmission. The front resembles a jet turbine intake, while large air intakes and sculpted fenders give the car its menacing shape.
Inside, the two-seat cockpit has aircraft-style instruments and gadgets designed for visual effect. The flames seen at the rear were more than a camera trick: According to the release, the production team used a pressurized mixture of air and kerosene, activated by radio-frequency equipment, to create the flaming exhaust. The film’s effects also combined practical techniques with digital imagery and pyrotechnics. In other words, this Batmobile had Hollywood magic under the bodywork, but it also had an engine and transmission.
Julien’s says the car’s physical appearance has not been altered since the film’s production and that its glossy black paint is original. After filming, it appeared at the movie’s grand opening and a Warner Bros. backlot party. It was then returned to Hollywood Productions, spent years in storage and later went on display at the Marconi Automotive Museum.
The estimate puts the car above the price achieved by another famous Batmobile. George Barris’ original car from the 1960s Batman television series sold at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction in 2013 for $4.62 million. An estimate is only a prediction, of course; the Batman Returns car will have to sell before anyone can say whether it has beaten that figure.
Michael Uslan, originator and executive producer of the Batman motion-picture franchise, put the vehicle’s importance to the character simply in the release: Among the four things he considers essential to Batman, he listed “The Car.” Casper, who built vehicles for film and television, called his work on the Batman Returns hero car unmatched among those projects.
The Batmobile will headline what Julien’s calls “The Ultimate Batmobile Auction,” presented with TCM. The sale will also include Batman film and television costumes, props, sketches, models, toys and other memorabilia, with further items to be announced. The live and online auction is scheduled for 10 a.m. Pacific on Monday, Nov. 23, at Julien’s Studios in Gardena, California, in the Los Angeles area. Bidders can participate online, by phone, in person or through an advance absentee bid.
For most of us, the sensible choice will be to watch the bidding. Then again, nobody ever accused Bruce Wayne of shopping for sensible transportation.