A SUPERHERO-obsessed petrolhead has converted the family car into a Batmobile.
Scott Russell – from Johnstone, Renfrewshire – has spent two and a half years and £2,000 modifying his Mitsubishi Lancer to give it the appearance of Batman’s famous choice of transport.
And he has unveiled the completed Batmobile today – the day of the opening of the new Batman vs Superman movie in the UK.
The car – worth £50,000 new – has been painted a midnight black and emblazoned with the huge Batman symbol in custom yellow trimming across its doors.
Scott, 48, has also fitted it with blacked-out alloys – complete with bespoke Batman hub caps – and customised the bonnet with a silhouette of the comic book hero.
He has even fitted the headlights with a filter that converts them into the famous bat-signal spotlight when they are on full beam.
Now he uses the top-of-the range motor to collect his teenage daughter, Emma, from school and drop her off at concerts – much to her embarrassment.
Scott – who works for local firm Eagle Couriers – said his obsession grew out of the Batman films which came out in his childhood.
He said: “Obviously when I was a child through all the different Michael Keaton movies and stuff like that I’ve seen Batman. It’s just a fascination I’ve had since I was young.”
Generally he uses the car for special occasions and charity events he attends with the Renfrewshire Modified Car Club.
But he has also taken to picking his 14 year-old daughter up from school in it in the ultimate “embarrassing dad” move.
He said: “I use it to pick my daughter up from school. That gets a lot of attention, classes get stopped and they’re all looking out the window.”
“I tend to find that when I’m walking back to the car people are stood there taking pictures of it.”
He said his daughter claims to find the actions of her father embarrassing.
But the family obsession with superheroes seems to run in the blood – as his daughter recently attended a superhero convention dressed as Batman’s arch villain Poison Ivy.
He said: “I took her to Comic Con dressed up as Batman, and dropped her off – and folk were cheering and waving.”
Speaking about the new Batman vs Superman film – due for release tomorrow (FRI) – he said: “The new film looks like it could be really good, so we’ll wait and see.”
Although Scott has already spent in the region of £2,000 on the car – which he calls his “hobby” – he has plans to spend up to £4,000 in total on further modifications.
He added: “My wife thinks I’m crazy, my daughter thinks I’m crazy.
“The people I work with think I’m a wee bit mad, but you know what, you only live once.”
