In 1966, a Batmobile fan by the name of Jim Sermersheim set-out to build a working Batmobile replica. Using minimal photos and the Batman TV show as a reference, he created his custom car from a ’58 Ford Thunderbird. He toured his car around the country (including Canada) for approximately two years before finally selling it. Eventually George Barris would acquire it and the car would become part of Barris’ Batmobile stable.
1966 Batmobile
The story continues years later…Barris left the “number 5” car in storage and after many years of deterioration he sold the car to Bob Butts for $25,000. Butts’ crew spent countless hours and $50,000+ restoring the car to better than new condition. Bob would go on to sell the car to Mrs. Scott Chinery, who presented it to her husband for his birthday in 1989. The sale was reported at $180,000, including the Butts built Batcycle.
Few days ago, that owner offered Batmobile No. 5 for sale for the first time in 28 years. The car recently sold for an impressive $210,000 at Mecum Auctions.
