- Currently up for auction at Cars & Classic in the UK, “The Beast” is a one-of-a-kind custom car with a 27-liter V-12 engine. Yes, twenty seven. It’s not a typo.
- The Beast’s owner, the late John Dodd, was legendary for his legal battles with Rolls-Royce.
- At one point, this was officially certified with a Guinness World Record as the fastest production car in the world, clocking in at 183 mph.
In 1972, the most popular car in the UK was the Ford Cortina. If Mr. or Mrs. had more sporting intentions, the related Capri offered Mustang-like coupe styling and an available 2.0-liter engine rated for 86 horsepower. Imagine cruising down the M1 in your new Capri, thinking you were having a little fun, when this 19-foot-long monstrosity went over the edge with a thunderous V-12 roar. It would be like going back to the Battle of England.
Indeed, it would be exactly like the Battle of Britain soundtrack, because the 1972 Beast is powered by the same Rolls-Royce engine found in the nose of a Spitfire. Its creator, the late John Dodd, died last year at the age of 90. Your vehicle is now up for auction on UK-based website Car & Classic.
The Spitfire is still considered one of the most stylish piston-engined fighter jets to ever take to the air. The Beast is more of a homely affair, with a hood long enough that you could probably fit a Spitfire on it. Or land a 747 on it. Seriously, this thing has a bigger nose than Cyrano de Bergerac’s.
Under that long hood is a Rolls-Royce-built Merlin V-12, a naturally aspirated version of the engine found in the Spitfire. The first engine of this car comes from a Centurion tank and the second from a trainer aircraft. It displaces an astonishing 27 liters and produces between 700 and 800 horsepower at just 2500 rpm.
If you think that’s crazy, buckle up. The Beast first emerged with a box frame construction built by the most dangerous of creatures, a Brit with a shed. Paul Jameson built several unique cars: he once created another Merlin-powered car, this one a convertible with six wheels, and he created the Beast around a war surplus engine that he got basically for scrap value. We
Dodd was an automatic transmission specialist and supplied a three-speed car with some Jaguar parts. Later, he was surprised to receive a call from Jameson: Would Dodd like to buy the rolling chassis? Dodd would, and set about doing it with a fiberglass body.
The completed Beast was said to have a front-to-rear weight balance of 55:45 and excellent handling. That can’t be entirely true, since the car is as long as an aircraft carrier and a stripped Merlin V-12 weighs more than two Chevrolet LS V-8s. Much of the information about the Beast is more speculation than specification.
However, it was awarded a Guinness World Record and was certified by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1973 as capable of reaching 183mph. A Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona of the time was 10 mph slower. Take this, Enzo.
Although it vaguely resembled a Capri that had been involved in some unfortunate Willy Wonka candy shooter accident, the Beast was a jumble of parts, and one of them caused quite a stir. It wasn’t the Interceptor’s windshield or the Reilant Scimitar’s rear window; it was Dodd’s insistence on using a Rolls-Royce grille, topped off with the Spirit of Ecstasy. His reasoning was: After all, Rolls-Royce built the Merlin V-12. Rolls-Royce executives were not amused. Spirit of ecstasy? More like Spirit of Bad Acid Trip.
Things were not improved by Dodd’s mischievous provocation. He delighted in calling Rolls HQ, pretending to be a wealthy sort who was interested in buying an example of the long-nosed coupe that had just passed through at high speed. Rolls-Royce deployed the lawyers.
Dodd drove the Beast to every day of the trial, except once when he showed up with his entire family on horseback. He lost and the court moved to enact punitive damages. Dodd climbed into the Beast and fled to Malaga, Spain, where he rebuilt his automatic transmission business and generally seemed to have had a lovely time in sunny weather.
The Beast lost its Rolls-Royce grille for one with John Dodd’s initials, although it’s still titled as a Rolls-Royce (no doubt this would please Dodd immensely). It has just over 10,000 miles, which is not surprising for a car that would struggle to hit 2 mpg.
For one lucky bidder, the Beast represents the pinnacle of British automotive eccentricity. It’s just a completely absurd car, too big, too thirsty and too stupid. And yet it’s also extremely funny and built to ridicule the rules of a man who lived to a ripe old age while thumbing his nose at the authorities. John Dodd could have bought himself a Capri. Thank God he didn’t.
The auction will take place on March 9 and will be streamed on the Car & Classic website.
Collaborating editor
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British cars, came of age in the golden age of Japanese compact sports performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it’s racing. Walter Cronkite’s career or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He’s taught his two young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to perpetually buy Hot Wheels.
