For nearly 25 years (1959 to 1982), Checker Motors dominated the taxicab business. That was in the form of the stoic Checker Taxicabs, which were seen all over major cities like Chicago and New York. Checker also built the Marathon for personal use, which was essentially the same car. The seller has a 1977 Marathon, which appears to have been restored as a taxi for use in a Batman movie (we don’t know which one). Located in Sharon, Wisconsin, the rolling tank that looks like a sedan is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $16,500.

During their long production runs, the Checker Taxi/Marathon changed very little. When they did, it was to satisfy the latest safety and emissions requirements. The “cowcatcher” bumpers on the seller’s car are a prime example, and Checker was focused more on function than on style. They were roomy vehicles with austere interiors and were constructed for years and years and many miles of service. The seller’s car is said to have 63,000 miles, which would be a drop in the bucket for a real Checker cab.

Checker relied on other manufacturers for mechanical hardware. Chevrolet was a primary source, and this vehicle has a period-correct (if not numbers-matching) 305 cubic inch V8 with a TH-350 automatic transmission. These were heavy vehicles at nearly 4,000 lbs., so acceleration would be long and slow, which is all you would expect out of one of these rolling monuments.

Since the seller refers to this car as a Marathon, we assume it was a personal use Checker made up to look like a taxi. The detailed work seems appropriate, and the body, paint, and interior all look up to snuff. No reference is made to which Batman movie it served in, but you will find many a carbon copy in the 1978-83 TV series, Taxi. Thanks for the tip, Hans H.!