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While fuel prices continue to ratchet up and put a squeeze on all aspects of the world economy, times are flush within the borders of major oil producing nations. So flush, in fact, that several Emiratis found a total of 9.8 million dollars to indulge in low-number license plates at a recent auction. The fascination with distinctive tags is a world-wide phenomenon, but $926,000 for a plate that says “50G” is uniquely asinine. If that’s what our last few fillups helped purchase, we’re going to bike more.

[Source: Yahoo]

The Michael Keaton/Jack Nicholson Batman is and probably always will be my all-time favorite movie, and the ostentatious Batmobile was one of my most cherished Hot Wheels. Owning the flat-black exotic has always been a less than realistic goal, but thanks to eBay, someone will have that chance. If you like the Batmobile as much as I do, and unlike me have at least $500,000, you can actually purchase the Dark Knight’s superhero-mobile on eBay.
The Batmobile on auction is number five of five, and with only 54 miles on the odometer, it is one rare bird indeed. It has no doors, and the only way to get behind the wheel is to jump in through the roof. The 20-foot long Batmobile hides a 5.7L Chevy small-block under-hood that hasn’t been driven in five years, and judging from the pics on eBay, it’s an automatic, too. It does make sense for Batman to fore-go manual shifts, since he needed to use his free hand to fire 50-caliber machine guns. Somehow we have the feeling that heavy artillery isn’t included in the auction, but at least you can look like your car can blow things up. Nobody has bid on the item yet, and at 500-large we’re guessing this auction has a chance of reappearing soon at a lower starting price. Thanks for the tip, Steve!

[Source: eBay]

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When Ford announced the GT500KR’s based price of $79,995, many of you thought that it was pretty steep for a Mustang. Even though it’s a limited edition Shelby with 540 horsepower, $80,000 can buy a lot of really nice cars. What’s even more insane is that we know people will not only buy the KR, but they will pay tens of thousands of dollars over MSRP just to have one. The only question was how much dealers would try and gouge. That question has been answered. Lone Star Ford in Houston, TX has put up a red GT500KR on eBay Motors with a “Buy It Now” price of…$154,991.00. That’s nearly double the MSRP. Who knows if anyone will actually buy it at that price, but going off what happened with the standard GT500, then it’s quite possible. While we enjoyed our first drive in the GT500KR (check out Part 1 and Part 2), we can think of quite a few cars we’d rather have for $150,000.

[Source: eBay Motors]

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Mid-to-late 70’s Pontiac Trans Ams have really been picking up steam on the collector car market. While not nearly as powerful as their more muscular 1969-1974 forebears, the later TAs certainly have a unique and gaudy manly-quality about them, helped in no small part by their association with ’70s icon Burt Reynolds and, of course, the Smokey and the Bandit movie franchise. The vehicle you see in this auction is a particularly nice example of the breed. As a 1978 Special Edition Y/82 Trans Am equipped with the desirable Pontiac 400 engine with 4-speed manual tranny, this is already a collectible vehicle. The original Hurst Hatches and AM/FM/8-track player and CB radio along with the rare rear-console add to this bird’s rarity.

For real Burt Reynolds aficionados, though, this fire-breathing Poncho offers something truly special: his signature on the dash. Not only that, Burt drove the vehicle around while he was in Georgia helping to develop Year One’s Bandit Edition replica car and it has been on television numerous times. With all it has going for it, don’t expect this car to come cheap. In fact, it’s already past $46 grand with days still to go in the auction.

[Source: eBay Motors]

Well, waddaya know… you really can find anything on eBay. We have no way of knowing for sure if this front bumper offered for auction on eBay Germany is really from a preproduction 2009 BMW 7 Series, but it sure looks the part based on spy shots and renderings that we’ve seen. We can’t imagine just how somebody would end up with this particular piece, but we’re having fun imagining a bit of dumpster-diving around the BMW design studio. One can’t help but wonder where the rest of the car may be. Didn’t anybody notice the missing front end?

The seller claims that the front bumper comes from a prototype next-gen 7 Series and prefers that the item be picked up in Munich. Want it? As of this writing, the high-bid is just 25.5 euros. Seems worth at least that much, assuming it’s for real.

[Source: eBay.de via Piston Heads]

The last Barrett-Jackson auction to really offer a true sense of spectacle and palpable entertainment value was the 2006 edition. A number of interesting cars crossed the block that year, but nothing could top the absolute insanity that took hold in Westworld when the red “Parade of Progress” GM Futurliner went up. The owners of that towering piece of Art Deco automotive sculpture were hoping it’d bring $600,000 or so. Then a bidding war ensued, and supercollector Ron Pratte was the last man standing after parting with $4,100,000. Even through the TV, you could feel the bedlam in the tent as the crowd rocked the joint like it was Madison Square Garden. Contrast that to this year’s edition, where you got the feeling that attendees were practically begged to bid up feature lots like Robosaurus.

Maybe if this Futurliner had made the trip to Arizona last week, things would have been more exciting. Instead of B-J, however, it’s up on eBay. Finished in red, white, and blue with a nifty star motif on the blue panels, this Parade of Progress bus is every bit as impressive as the sister ship that brought in all that money two years ago. The result of a 20-year restoration project, this Futurliner is outfitted with a snazzy interior complete with an 8-foot bar, rear lounge, custom light fixtures, and beautifully detailed stainless trim on the ceiling and bar facing. The current bid is over $1,000,000 and the reserve, unsurprisingly, has not been met. As gorgeous as it is rare, the eventual buyer of this bus will own something truly special. Excuse us while we check our lottery tickets to see if the ultimate road-trip vehicle is now within our means. Thanks for the tip, Mike!

[Source: eBay]

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