The earliest known licensed Batmobile -- a customized 1956 Oldsmobile 88 built in a New Hampshire barn -- sold at auction over the weekend for a whopping $137,000.

As we noted last month, the vehicle has more humble origins than the iconic Lincoln Futura concept car created by George Barris for the 1966 Batman television series: Completed in 1963, it was built from the ground up by 23-year-old Forrest Robinson and his friend Len Perham simply to drive around.

Originally "space-age silver," the car caught the attention of DC Comics licensee All Star Dairies, which leased Robinson’s car for a promotional campaign, repainted it and sent it on a tour of the Eastern United States as “Batman’s Batmobile.” The vehicle was returned in late 1966 to Robinson, who sold it for $200.

It was left abandoned in a field for nearly 40 years before it was discovered in 2008, and then passed through several hands, ultimately being authenticated and restored, and then put for sale through Heritage Auctions. The opening bid was $90,000.