A shark-inspired spectacle that ran — but only to prove it could.
The Lincoln Futura is a 1955 concept car designed by Bill Schmidt and John Najjar, built by Ghia in Turin, Italy, at a cost of $250,000 (equivalent to $3,000,000 in 2025). Its styling was original by 1950s standards, featuring a double clear-plastic canopy, exaggerated hooded headlight pods, and very large, outward-canted tailfins. The car had a complete powertrain and was fully operable, in contrast to many show cars. Its official public debut was on January 8, 1955, at the Chicago Auto Show; it had been shown to the press at the city's Congress Hotel on January 5. While being displayed elsewhere in the U.S. that spring, the Futura was seen by the country's television audience on Today ("The Today Show") on March 3, 1955. The idea for the Futura came from designer Bill Schmidt, who got the idea while he was diving, after an encounter with a shark.
Designed by Schmidt and Najjar, built by Ghia in Turin, promoted by Lincoln as a $250,000 statement.
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Where the idea came from
Schmidt conceived it after a shark encounter while diving — an origin story rooted in abstraction, not engineering.
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When and where it appeared
It debuted at the Chicago Auto Show on January 8, 1955, then reached national TV on March 3.
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What it looked like — and what it did
Its styling broke 1950s norms with a double canopy and canted fins — and it actually drove.
Worth your time?
Yes. Drive the whole thing.
3.5/ 5
What works
It commits fully to its own visual logic: double clear-plastic canopy, exaggerated headlight pods, outward-canted tailfins. Every surface serves the silhouette.
What does not
It does not represent production-car thinking. It has no interior ergonomics, no service access, no crash structure, no driver-focused layout.
Drive it if
It is for students of automotive theatre and postwar industrial design. It is not for drivers, engineers, or collectors seeking mechanical significance.
Skip it if
It is not for drivers, engineers, or collectors seeking mechanical significance.
The written brief1 min read
What the car is and where it came from
A 1955 Lincoln concept car designed by Bill Schmidt and John Najjar, hand-built by Ghia in Turin, Italy, at a cost of $250,000.
How it works, in terms someone would actually use
It ran. It had a complete, operable powertrain built around a 368 cubic inch Lincoln engine. It was not a static display.
What it gets right
It commits fully to its own visual logic: double clear-plastic canopy, exaggerated headlight pods, outward-canted tailfins. Every surface serves the silhouette.
What it does not
It does not represent production-car thinking. It has no interior ergonomics, no service access, no crash structure, no driver-focused layout.
What it changed
It became the raw material for the 1966 Batmobile. That transformation eclipsed its original intent and redefined its cultural weight.
Who it is for, and who it is not
It is for students of automotive theatre and postwar industrial design. It is not for drivers, engineers, or collectors seeking mechanical significance.
Is it worth your time
Yes — as a document of mid-century American ambition in sheet metal and plastic, not as a functional machine or engineering benchmark.