The one-off Merlin-powered creation will go up for auction with Car & Classic later this month
Almost 15 years after we first got behind the wheel, ‘The Beast’ is now going up for auction with Car & Classic on March 9. A brainchild of the late John Dodd, this one-off first hit the road in its current form in 1972, going on to achieve a 183mph top speed plus a Guiness World Record at the time as the world’s most powerful car.
The Beast’s underpinnings were first constructed in 1966 to cater for a Rolls-Royce Meteor tank engine, but during a trip to Sweden this first iteration suffered fire damage. John Dodd didn’t scrap the project though, instead rebuilding the creation with a colossal 27-litre Mk35 Rolls-Royce Merlin V12, best known for its use in the Spitfire. Unlike the iconic fighter though, The Beast does without a supercharger, running naturally aspirated for an estimated 750bhp output – the Merlin produces 1500bhp in its original application for context.
Constructed by dragster specialists, its 19ft long fibreglass body features no less than eight headlights, multiple banks of wing-mounted vents and a grille adorned with John Dodd’s initials. This took the place of the original grille that was taken from a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, an addition which resulted in a lengthy court battle.
Sending power to the heavy-duty Currie rear axle is a custom ‘step up’ three-speed automatic transmission built by Dodd himself. Despite only having three gears to work with and a colossal kerb weight, it’ll still cover the quarter mile in 12sec and tops out at 183mph top speed – times we achieved in our test drive back in 2008.
The tight cabin is a contrast to the vast exterior dimensions, primarily due to the sheer volume of its 27-litre power plant. The custom designed dashboard features a bank of unlabelled red switches, each responsible for initiating a step in the starting sequence for its Merlin V12.
Despite being over 50 years old The Beast remains in running order, is in original condition and with 10,685 miles on the clock. It’ll go under the hammer on March 9 as part of the seven day Car & Classic auction.
Keyword: ‘The Beast’ set to go under the hammer – 27-litre V12 GT up for sale