- Presently up for public sale at Vehicles & Traditional within the U.Okay., “The Beast” is a one-off customized automobile with a 27-liter V-12 engine. Sure, twenty-seven. Not a typo.
- The Beast’s proprietor, the late John Dodd, was legendary for his authorized battles with Rolls-Royce.
- At one time, this was formally licensed with a Guinness world document because the quickest manufacturing automobile on the planet, clocked at 183 mph.
In 1972, the most well-liked automobile within the U.Okay. was the Ford Cortina. If Sir or Madam had extra sporting intentions, the associated Capri provided Mustang-like coupe styling, and an obtainable 2.0-liter engine good for 86 horsepower. Think about zipping down the M1 motorway in your new Capri, considering you had been cracking on a bit, when this 19-foot-long monstrosity hurtled previous in a roar of V-12 thunder. It could be like being again within the Battle of Britain once more.
In truth, it might be precisely just like the soundtrack of the Battle of Britain, as a result of the 1972 Beast is powered by the identical Rolls-Royce engine discovered within the nostril of a Spitfire. Its creator, the late John Dodd, died final 12 months on the age of 90. Now his automobile is being provided for public sale on the U.Okay.-based web site Automotive & Traditional.
The Spitfire remains to be thought of one of the vital elegant piston-engine fighter plane to have taken to the air. The Beast is relatively a extra homely affair, with a hood lengthy sufficient that you can in all probability land a Spitfire on it. Or land a 747 on it. Critically, this factor has a nostril larger than Cyrano de Bergerac’s.
Beneath that lengthy bonnet is a Rolls-Royce–constructed Merlin V-12, a naturally aspirated model of the engine discovered within the Spitfire. The primary engine on this automobile was sourced from a Centurion tank, and the second from a coaching plane. It displaces a jaw-dropping 27 liters and produces someplace within the neighborhood of 700 to 800 horsepower at simply 2500 rpm.
For those who assume that is insane, strap in. The Beast first emerged with box-frame building constructed by that the majority harmful of creatures, a British man with a shed. Paul Jameson constructed a number of one-off automobiles—he as soon as created one other Merlin-engined automobile, this one a convertible with six wheels—and he created the Beast round a battle surplus engine he bought for principally scrap worth. We
Dodd was an automated transmission specialist, and equipped a three-speed auto with some Jaguar elements. Later, he was shocked to obtain a name from Jameson: would Dodd like to purchase the rolling chassis? Dodd would, and he set about getting it bodied in fiberglass.
The finished Beast was mentioned to have a 55:45 front-to-rear weight stability and wonderful dealing with. This will’t presumably be totally true, because the automobile is so long as an plane provider, and an undressed Merlin V-12 weighs greater than two Chevrolet LS V-8s. A variety of the details about the Beast is extra hypothesis than specification.
Nonetheless, it did obtain a Guinness World File, and it was licensed by the Royal Car Membership (RAC) in 1973 as able to hitting 183 mph. A Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona of the interval was 10 mph slower. Take that, Enzo.
Whereas it vaguely resembled a Capri that had been concerned in some unlucky Willy Wonka taffy-puller accident, the Beast was a hodgepodge of elements, and certainly one of them brought about a substantial amount of fuss. It wasn’t the Interceptor windshield or the Reilant Scimitar rear glass; it was Dodd’s insistence on utilizing a Rolls-Royce grille, topped with the Spirit of Ecstasy. His reasoning was: in any case, Rolls-Royce constructed the Merlin V-12. Rolls-Royce executives had been Not Amused. Spirit of Ecstasy? Extra like Spirit of Dangerous Acid Journey.
Issues weren’t improved by Dodd’s impish provocation. He delighted in ringing up Rolls HQ, pretending to be some well-heeled type who was taken with buying an instance of the long-nosed coupe that had simply handed at a excessive charge of pace. Rolls-Royce deployed the legal professionals.
Dodd drove the Beast to each day of the trial, apart from as soon as when he confirmed up along with his whole household on horseback. He misplaced, and the court docket moved to enact punitive damages. Dodd hopped within the Beast and ran away to Malaga, Spain, the place he rebuilt his automatic-transmission enterprise and appeared to have typically had a beautiful time in a sunny local weather.
The Beast misplaced its Rolls-Royce grille for one with John Dodd’s initials, although it’s nonetheless titled as a Rolls-Royce (likely this might please Dodd immensely). It has simply over 10,000 miles on it, which is hardly stunning for a automobile that may battle to hit 2 mpg.
For one fortunate bidder, the Beast represents the height of British automotive eccentricity. It’s only a fully preposterous automobile, too huge, too thirst, and too foolish. And but, it’s also extraordinarily humorous and constructed to ridicule the principles by a person who lived to a ripe previous age whereas thumbing his nostril on the authorities. John Dodd may have purchased himself a Capri. Thank goodness he did not.
The public sale takes place March 9 and shall be streamed on the Automotive & Traditional web site.
Contributing Editor
Brendan McAleer is a contract author and photographer primarily based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British vehicles, got here of age within the golden period of Japanese sport-compact efficiency, and started writing about automobiles and other people in 2008. His specific curiosity is the intersection between humanity and equipment, whether or not it’s the racing profession of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught each of his younger daughters how you can shift a guide transmission and is grateful for the excuse they supply to be perpetually shopping for Sizzling Wheels.
