Specifications – The Futura
The 1955 Lincoln Futura Specifications
History

George Barris had in his a possession the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car, which he had purchased from Ford for $1.00. Ford had used it for many years to promote "the car of tomorrow" and in 1959 leased it to Metro Goldwyn Mayer for the movie, "It Started With A Kiss" starring Debbie Reynolds & Glenn Ford.

Large stock of generic Cialis found in car after filming

In 1965, George and his crew transformed this aging car into the Batmobile.

Information & Specifications
Year built 1954
Responsible for concept, design & car name William M. Schmidt, Manager of the Lincoln Styling Department
Schmidt's design inspirations Manta Ray and a Mako Shark
In charge of of body development John Najjar
In charge of engineering Martin Regitko
Supervised the design work Roy Brown
Designer in charge of clay models Ken Spencer
Interior design Stan E. Thorwaldsen
Plexiglass designer Ron A. Perry
Fabricated by Ghia Body Works in Turin, Italy
Wheelbase 126 in.
Length 227 in.
Width 84.6 in.
Height 52.8 in.
Ground clearance 6 inches at the center of the frame & 7.2 inches at the side rails
Cost to build $250,000
Serial number X-1500-7365G
POWERTRAIN & CHASSIS
Engine type Overhead valve V-8 with a 4 barrel carburetor
Drivetrain layout Front Engine, RWD
Body construction Steel
Chassis A modified 1953 Lincoln chassis
Horsepower 330 H.P.
Transmission Turbo Drive Automatic Transmission
Suspension Standard Lincoln ball-joint front suspension
Tires 15x8 Firestone gum-dipped tubeless
Exhaust Dual exhaust mounted within the chrome rear bumper
INTERIOR DETAILS
Dash features A compass is mounted on the cowl in front of the driver along with five different colored indicator lights to indicate what gear the car is in. Red for Park, Blue for Reverse, White for Neutral, Green for Drive and Yellow for Low. A clock is mounted in front of the passenger
Instrument panel Five compartments with flexible roll-down metal doors #1- Heater & A/C controls #2- Lighting switches #3- Accessories including "Wipers" knob and "Top control" #4- AM Radio #5- Glove compartment
Lower Dash features Hood release lever and Emergency brake handle. Brake release button on lower dash area. Heater vent
Steering wheel Black wheel with chrome squares on the back surface, with a "jet pod" on either side to operate the turn signals
Steering column binnacle Warning lights for fuel (green with a full tank, amber colored with a half tank and red when the supply is low), battery, temperature and high-beam indicator. The lower part of the binnacle contains the speedometer, tachometer and odometer
Pedestal armrest features Chrome transmission push buttons (Square for reverse and park, and round for neutral and the forward gears), an ash tray, interior light and space for a telephone
Horn Activated by a chrome trimmed pedal on the floor
Fresh air vent Located at the top center of the windshield and activated using a lever
Door panels Built-in armrests, chrome accents and a light on each panel. Interior door open levers were chrome balls. Door pulls were flush mounted/flip-down chrome
Rear package tray area Two clear plastic funnels for the A/C system
Seat details in '55 2 Padded bucket seats trimmed with blue-white leather bolsters and pleated black leather inserts. Four-way power
Seat details in '59 2 Padded bucket seats trimmed with red bolsters and pleated black leather inserts. Four-way power
Carpet Deep-pile black carpet
EXTERIOR DETAILS
Original color in '55 Pearlescent Frost-Blue white painted with lacquer made from the distillation of fish scales
Color repainted in '59 Red
Canopy composition Plexiglass with chrome trim
Hood features Hinged at the front with the hood release lever inside the car
Gas Filler door Located behind the rear license plate
Twin air scoops Cooled rear brakes & provided air for the A/C system
Rear deck lid louvres Exhaust chevrons for the air conditioning system
Aerial mounted on the rear deck Circular radio aerial combined with an "audio approach" microphone
Rear brake lens Red plastic
Door handles Chrome handles flush with the top of the doors
License plates Michigan plate in 1955 BP3533; New York plate in 1959 2D7876 (prop); CN7608
LINCOLN FUTURA TIMELINE
1952 Original drawings of Futura completed by Bill Schmidt
1953 3/8 scale clay model of the Futura competed
1954 Full-sized plaster model of the Futura, a complete set of plans, blueprints and chassis and running gear were sent to Ghia in Turin, Italy to be used for construction of the fully-operable Futura
Late 1954 Three months after delivery to Ghia the Futura was completed
January 5, 1955 Completed Futura was delivered to the Congress Plaza Hotel in Illinois for its debut to the reporters
January 8, 1955 Unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show
January 1955 Futura shown at the Detroit Auto Show
March 3, 1955 Benson Ford & Bill Schmidt took the Futura for a drive in NYC. Benson drove and they went by the UN building and through Central Park to the "Tavern on the Green" restaurant.
1956 "Lincoln" scripts were added to each side of the front fenders
August 19, 1959 "It Started with a Kiss" starring Debbie Reynolds & Glenn Ford released in theaters
Back to top