A a single-off make, The Beast turned a legendary common car or truck thanks to its bonkers requirements, which includes a 19-foot-very long (5.9-meter) body, a 27-liter aircraft motor guzzling 8 pints of fuel for each minute, and a fat of two tons (4,409 lbs .).
Built in an era when no one particular bothered about “numbers matching” and fans building personalized automobiles only cared about pursuing the newest and craziest traits and outdoing the upcoming guy, The Beast was even acknowledged by the Guinness Reserve of World Data as the world’s most potent car in 1977.
Famed for its monstrous 27-liter (1,650 cu in) V12 Rolls-Royce Merlin motor – the exact same applied in the Spitfire and Hurricane fighter plane that played a vital part in the air victories in the Struggle of Britain – the automobile also impresses with its strange appears and elongated proportions.
Photograph: Auto and Basic
It might sound like a ridiculous plan right now, but placing an motor developed for aviation in a highway auto was not some thing that unusual in the 1970s. If we dig even further in heritage, we come across the 1905 Darraq V8 Distinctive or the 1933 Napier-Railton that show the plan has been an desirable one for a extended time. Having said that, John Dodd’s development is different because he did not develop it with the intention to enter races or split data but purely as a personalized undertaking.
The Beast you see in the photos connected to this post is actually the next iteration of the one-off car or truck. The primary one particular suffered intensive destruction to the physique and engine in a fire in 1974 even though Dodd was returning from a pay a visit to to the King of Sweden, who wished to see the bonkers car in person.
The Beast begun everyday living in 1966 as a customized rolling chassis established by fellow engineer Paul Jameson and at first featured a Rolls-Royce Meteor tank engine. Dodd was the guy contracted to create an automatic transmission for the car, and he finished up shopping for the project and ending the automobile himself.
He endowed it with a enormous fiberglass overall body manufactured by a business named Fibre Glass Repairs and painted it crimson, alongside with a Rolls-Royce Corniche grille and emblem. Due to the fact the motor and the grille up entrance have been bearing the Rolls-Royce model, Dodd referred to as the ensuing car or truck a Rolls-Royce (what else?), which didn’t sit nicely with the luxurious car or truck maker who afterwards submitted a lawsuit from him.
Image: Auto and Traditional
Just after the fireplace incident, Dodd decided to rebuild the car or truck working with the insurance plan payout. He basically had to make every single section of the vehicle from scratch, and this time, he fitted it with the aforementioned Merlin V12 aero engine and a Silver Shadow grille. The car’s overall body was developed by the very same Kent-dependent company that created the to start with one. This second fiberglass physique attributes a special entrance conclusion, even though the rear requires inspiration from the common capturing brake designs of the period. It also received a contemporary paintwork in the legendary beige it boasts now.
When Rolls-Royce gained the court docket scenario, Dodd flew to Spain. His beloved development joined him a couple several years afterwards, and which is when the grille was changed to what you see on the vehicle nowadays, with John’s initials entrance and heart.
Equipped with the new Merlin V12, the auto was rumored to be able of building among 750 hp and 1,000 hp (761 and 1,014 ps), with 760 lb-ft (1,030 Nm) of torque. It is also mentioned to be capable of double that sum if refitted with the first supercharger. When the Guinness E book of World Information named it the most effective auto in the planet in 1977, it claimed The Beast “exceeded 200 mph [322 kph] on quite a few occasions on Continental roadways.”
What we know for absolutely sure is that the RAC calculated the auto at 183 mph (295 kph) in 1973, but there are experiences proclaiming it could hit a greatest pace of 260 mph (418 kph). The correct overall performance in its present-day state is not recognised.
Photograph: Auto and Classic
As for the interior of the vehicle, it attributes just two bucket seats, and supplied that the rebuilt body is longer than the 1st, there is a lot of rear load area. There is also a custom sculpted dash, a financial institution of purple rocker switches to regulate the massive mill, and a bespoke steering wheel with the “JD” letters embossed in the centre.
John Dodd passed away at the end of last 12 months, and his family is now on the lookout for a new dwelling for his beloved car or truck. Showing just more than 10,000 miles (16,093 km) on the odometer and in whole managing condition, The Beast is scheduled to roll across the auction block on March 9. We definitely want the optimum bidder would often use it on the street as John Dodd did, but we just can’t aid but pity them for the dent fuel bills will put on their funds.
