Strange HiT Toys James?

Hello BPT. I've been looking to post about this strange train ever since I found it whilst scrolling through Ebay. It is a Trackmaster HiT Toys James, except it's got some quirks that I cannot seem to find information about. It seems to be a hybrid of multiple James models. The body of a regular James, the face of an R/C James, and the bottom of a flip-face James (?). The bottom is strange, because it has holes that look like they would hold the switches for a face-switching engine. I don't have a flip-face James to compare to (or any James' aside from a Motorized and 2015 Plarail one), however I did have a flip-face R/C Thomas, and that switching area of the underside does appear to be similar in shape with this James. My question is, well, what is this James? Is it a factory error, a prototype, or some strange design that was included in a set?