Man fulfills dream driving 27-litre V12 Spitfire-engined 'The Beast' on the streets, but the car has an infamous history
- The Beast is a pretty weird-looking car
- It contains a 27-liter V12 Merlin engine designed for a Spitfire
- It got its creator in trouble with Rolls-Royce, too
Published on Sep 05, 2024 at 10:35 AM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Sep 05, 2024 at 8:45 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
The Beast is a unique car built around a Rolls-Royce 27-liter V12 Merlin engine, originally designed for a Spitfire aircraft.
It’s one of the most infamous cars in Britain. Why?
It was originally built to prank Rolls-Royce, originally registered as a Rolls-Royce and sporting the grille of a Silver Shadow, resulting in a trademark infringement case.
Now, this YouTuber gets to drive the piece of automotive history that held the Guinness World Record for the world’s most powerful car in 1977.
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The Beast
The creation of John Dodd, the car appears to have driven straight out of a sci-fi movie.
He bought the rolling chassis in the early 1970s and worked with Paul Jameson, a gearbox expert, to make the car drivable.
Its 27-liter Merlin engine is 10 times the size of the base 2.7-litre V6 in the Ford F-150, which is why it has such a long bonnet and was labeled, ‘The Beast’.
Check out the unbelievable story behind Shaquille O’Neal’s ‘Frankenstein Ferrari’ for more on weird customization.
This wannabe Rolls-Royce Frankencar is another strange homage.
But back to The Beast – Dodd boasted that the naturally aspirated engine churned out 950bhp, although current estimates put it closer to 750 bhp.
However, reaching speeds of 295km/h (183mph), it was awarded the Guinness Book of World Record for being the world’s most powerful car in 1977.
Despite this, it was functional and road-legal – it even ULEZ [ultra low emission zone] compliant in London, UK these days.
The history
Due to its registration and RR grille, Rolls-Royce took Dodd to court for trademark infringement.
As car enthusiast and content creator of The Late Brake Show, Jonny Smith explains, the case became a media circus.
Ever the eccentric, Dodd even drove to the hearing in the car in question.
As for driving it? Smith described the experience as a sensory overload.
“Oh my word – what a sensory overload!” Smith says.
“The Beast: wow that really was quite something, quite daunting.
“I almost felt the spirit of John Dodd watching over me because John used to drive this car hard.”
All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
