The screen-used ‘hero’ Batmobile from Tim Burton’s 1992 film Batman Returns is heading to auction for the first time, with a pre-sale estimate of $5m–7m.
The car headlines The Ultimate Batmobile Auction, a joint sale between Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies, taking place in Los Angeles and online on November 23, 2026. Batman props, costumes and production artefacts will be offered alongside the car, with further lots to be announced in the coming weeks.
Carl Casper’s Hollywood Productions built three Batmobiles for Batman Returns. According to Julien’s, this example was the Number One Hero car and can be screen-matched to the majority of the movie’s driving sequences.
After filming, the Batmobile appeared at the premiere and a Warner Bros backlot party. It then returned to Hollywood Productions and spent several years in storage before going on display at the Marconi Automotive Museum in Tustin, California. Julien’s says it retains its original black paint and that its appearance remains unchanged since filming.
The Batman Returns car’s long, missile-like shape dates back to Burton’s 1989 Batman. It was developed by concept artist Julian Caldow under production designer Anton Furst, drawing inspiration from Land Speed Record cars, including Thrust2.
Measuring approximately 19ft 8in long, the glassfibre-bodied car sits on a chassis formed by joining two Chevrolet Impala frames. Power comes from a Chevrolet V8 paired with a three-speed automatic transmission. For the flaming ‘afterburner’ effect, the special-effects team used a pressurised mixture of air and kerosene, ignited by radio control.
A result within its estimate would surpass the $4.62m paid for George Barris’s original 1966 TV Batmobile at Barrett-Jackson in 2013.
At the upper end, it would also exceed the $6.38m paid at RM Sotheby’s 2019 Monterey sale for a gadget-equipped Aston Martin DB5 built to promote Thunderball.
View the listing here.
