AS ideas go it was certainly pretty batty. But car-mad businessman Phil Garlick is delighted with his own Batmobile.

The copy of the amazing vehicle - which appeared in the 1989 film Batman Returns - was commissioned by Phil and wife Lynne, who run a company that hires out and sells iconic cars.

He got behind the wheel of the breathtaking 130mph car for the first time after a two-year labour of love to build it.

Phil, 52, said the 21ft supercar lived up to his expectations and he can't wait for it to be delivered to his Warrington home.

But Phil won't be able to take it out for a spin, because it has no indicators or wing mirrors and cannot be used on the roads.

Initially, he had planned to hire the vehicle out for events, where fans could clamour for a glimpse of the Batmobile.

But now he has decided to put the vehicle up for sale, through his business themecars4u

Phil said: "My wife and I thought of this when we were trying to come up with something new for the business. We wondered what is the best theme car we could have?

"The whole thing just escalated from there. We thought it was such a wacky idea.

"It's the shape that's the appeal - it's such a sexy-looking car. As soon as you sit in it, you fall in love with it.

"There's just something about it. There's so much detail. I love it."

With an initial budget of £70,000, work began on building the car 18 months ago.

The glass fibre body was shipped in from the United States in pieces, after being moulded from the original Hollywood car.

Then experts at Z Cars, in east Yorkshire, set about making a chassis it could sit on, along with a 5.7-litre V8 engine.

Richard Allanson, from Z Cars, said: "We get asked to do a lot of one-off projects - and we just said `yes' to this one.

"There was a bit of head-scratching in trying to get everything as it was on the original, but it's not unusual for us to do this sort of thing. We are known for doing lots of mad cars.

"It's not road legal - but it could soon be made legal."

Ultimately, the cost of building the Batmobile was £150,000 - but despite the hefty price tag, Phil believes it will be a quick sale.

"It's one of those cars that if you have the money, you are going to buy it," he said. "It's been a labour of love. It's fantastic to drive." Tweet