Holy smokes, Batman! Take a look at these ultimate movie cars

Story highlights

Original Batmobile from the 1960s on sale for $5m in Arizona

Batmobile was crafted from a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car

Bond's Aston Martin DB5 competes with Batmobile for top collector car spot

CNN  — 

Kapow! Crunch! Zap! “Batman” in the 1960s was a comic book brought to life.

The television show, which ran for three series between 1966 and 1988, made actors Adam West (Batman) and Burt Ward (Robin) bona fide Hollywood stars. But its arguably their tricked out ride, the Batmobile, that has stood the real test of time.

This car will go from 0 to 1,000 mph in 55 seconds

Virtually tied with James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 as the most expensive vehicle in film history, the original black and red car from the TV series went for a whopping $4.62m (about £3m) when it was bought by collector Rick Champagne in 2013.

Now the original Batmobile is up for sale again, by Barrett-Jackson, one of the world’s leading collector car auction companies. The car is currently for sale in its Scottsdale showroom in Arizona, for a reported $5m (£3.2m) price tag.

Who built the Batmobile?

The Batmobile featured in the 1966 television series.

Car customizer George Barris built the Batmobile in just three weeks. Barris transformed a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car into the Caped Crusader’s preferred form of transport. Gadgets included the Batphone, Bat-Ray Projector and tires that could automatically inflate.

The car had remained in George Barris’ own collection until it was sold two years ago.

007’s sleek ride: The Aston Martin DB5

The Aston Martin DB5 is considered a "James Bond" fan favorite

Another fan favorite is super spy James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5. In total, four cars were built for filming and the promotion of the Bond franchise.

Two were constructed for the filming of “Goldfinger”, while one of these vehicles went missing after it was stolen from its Florida owners in 1997.

The surviving “Goldfinger” movie car, which was also driven by Sean Connery in “Thunderball”, sold at a RM Auctions sale in 2010 for $4.6m (£2.6m).

License to thrill: The coolest Bond cars of all time

Film cameo raises value of car

An appearance in a movie or TV series can do wonders for the value of even the humblest of cars. The anthropomorphic 1963 Volkswagen Beetle that starred as Herbie, in the 1968 film “The Love Bug”, went for $126,000 (£81,750). It holds the world record for a VW Beetle sold at an auction.

The 1963 Volkswagen Beetle pictured above was first seen in the 1968 film "The Love Bug." It is pictured above during its promotional rounds for the 2005 sequel, "Herbie: Fully Loaded"

“It definitely brings up the value. They’re iconic,” explains Craig Jackson, Chairman & CEO of Barrett-Jackson explains.

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However, not all movie cars are auction successes.

Earlier in July, there was speculation that another car, piloted by Sean Connery, could go for as much as $387,000 (£250,000) at a Coys sale in the UK.

But, Captain Nemo’s bizarre six-wheeled Nautilus car, from the 2003 movie “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” only made $49,000 (£31,860).

“There’s really no set premium since the cars all so different and it all depends on how much the fan or investor personally values each one.

Jackson refers to starring vehicles like the Jalopy from “Beverly Hillbillies”, the 1969 Dodge Charger from the “Dukes of Hazzard” and the 1955 Pontiac Star Chief from “I Love Lucy”, as autos that have stolen film buffs’ hearts.

“Many of the buyers are people that grew up watching and dreaming of owning them.”

Flick through the gallery above for more starring cars.