The first touring Batmobile (built circa 1963) has sold for $163,000 at Heritage Auctions in Dalllas. 

The lot headlined a sale of entertainment memorabilia on December 6.

The car was designed and built as a publicity stunt for DC Comics, who were riding high on the success of the character.

The 1963 Batmobile was toured throughout the eastern US

It was toured in towns along the eastern coast of the US, where it presumably received a rapturous response from fans.

This Batmobile predates the model built for the 1966 TV series starring Adam West, which sold for $4.6m in a sale last year.

It was discovered in a field in the early 2000s and has since undergone extensive refurbishment.

Margaret Barrett, director of entertainment and music at Heritage Auctions, commented prior to the sale: "This is a great piece of lost Pop Culture and Americana.

"After it was removed from the field, it went through a few owners before the most recent owner, Toy Car Exchange, put the car through a painstaking frame up restoration with the original engine and other original parts lovingly restored and rebuilt.

"This is from before replicas of the Barris TV Batmobile were made and available for touring. Those were known as 'ABC TV Batmobiles,' and later on as the Barris Batmobile or 1966 Batmobile."

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