Lincoln Futura (United States of America, 1955)

The Lincoln Futura was a concept car, hand build by Ghia in Italy, and first presented to the public in 1955. It was a very successful show car that earned Ford positive publicity and was even sold as toy car and model kit. The car was fully operational, featuring a 368 cubic inch Lincoln engine and power train, but not of practical design with a double, clear-plastic canopy top, exaggerated hooded headlight pods, and very large, outward-canted tailfins at both ends of the vehicle. The traces of its design can be found in Lincolns of the years 1956 and 1957. In 1959 the car made an appearance in the movie It Started with a Kiss, starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford. For the movie its original colour (pearlescent) was changed to red. After that the car fell into oblivion until 1966 when George Barris used it to design the first Bat Mobile for the famous TV series Batman. In this sense, the Lincoln Futura is the predecessor of all Bat Mobiles that still today are highlights on t...