The Beast – a classic car with a 27-litre engine
The Beast is big, powerful and genuinely one of a kind.
It was built in 1966, fitted with a 27-litre Meteor Rolls-Royce engine and it recorded a 295km/h top speed.
Considered the ultimate expression of British engineering, it belonged to John Dodd who recently died at age 90.
The Beast is 6.3m long and is powered by a 27-litre Merlin engine. It was built by Paul Jameson.
Dodd built the gearbox.
After a fire on route from Sweden damaged the car, Dodd decided to improve the car by fitting a V12 Merlin engine. A Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow grille was added.
A legal court battle could not put a stop to Dodd, who may have fled after losing his case against Rolls-Royce (who objected to the brand name being used for The Beast), only to have the car join him later on in Spain, where it was kept in regular use. Ironically, the V5 still lists The Beast as a Rolls-Royce.
The engine is normally aspirated and delivers an earth shattering 7 350Nm and in 1973 it achieved a top speed of 295km/h, which landed it in the Guinness Book of Records as the most powerful car in the world in 1977.
The car is now on auction and says Car & Classic CEO Tom Wood, “This is a genuine once in a lifetime opportunity and I hope the lucky new buyer continues to use and enjoy the car the way John did.”
The Beast’s auction starts on March 9 and will last for seven days.
Source: Newspress
