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.”
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