The reason why a custom-made Batmobile replica was in Swindon last weekend has been revealed following several sightings.
Photographs of the iconic vehicle were posted on social media leaving people wondering why the Dark Knight had paid the town a visit.
The special car is a prop created by local company Podpad Studios that was present at this year’s Penhill Fun Day on Sunday, August 13.
Podpad Studios owners Anna and Mark Enright chose to let the Caped Crusader on the loose at the event to entertain local families attending.
“We support lots of charities by doing free events because normally we would hire out the Batmobile,” she said.
“The events we do are usually far away but we also like to support our local community so we loved the Penhill event as there is always loads going on and is a brilliant atmosphere.”
It took Mark around 16 weeks to complete the Batmobile and he needed the help of a doner car to get the job done.
“It was a Toyota MR2 which was completely taken apart and we used the chassis and the engine while each of the Batmobile’s panels was handmade,” said the 58-year-old.
“The planning is always the hardest part given how important the dimensions were but it was great fun.
“We have changed the structure of it so it is not legal to drive but we are all about making props so that’s fine.”
The impressive car has its own propane flame system installed so it looks as accurate as possible while the fins also move and are fully articulated.
Anna was proud of the latest in a long line of mesmerising creations.
“No one else in the world in the world had made a replica of it because it was a challenge of engineering,” said the 56-year-old.
“We have a spinner from Blade Runner but we chose the Batmobile because we needed something that we could take outside and it is a lovely black, textural object against the green grass.
“The Batmobile has a twist of Aliens as we love that film, so we chose to twist the two with the car which is inspired by the 1995 Val Kilmer ‘Batman Forever’ film.”
Penhill Fun Day began in 2022 and is arranged by The People of Penhill community committee and the funds raised go back into other community events and support programmes.
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