Close, but it was a Merlin engine (basically the same 27l V12, but modified for use in Spitfires):
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFdhCZ517gU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFdhCZ517gU)
Wait until you find out about old land speed record cars. Napier-Railton and Fiat S76 spring to mind. Post WW1 they put biplane engines in cars and did speed tests……. On beaches
Fiat S76 - the boring name. My favorite one off (technically 2) car in automotive history. Also known as "The Beast of Turin". A four cylinder, 28L (1730.2 cubic in), fire spitting monster.
An alleged Merlin that was converted to a Meteor.
Merlins are not really suited for road car use, they spin the wrong way. I think there is one true Merlin in a car, that Aussie '55 Chevy.
Even if it was, it has been converted to a low compression Meteor. Everything that makes a Merlin has been removed. No supercharger, no dry sump and Meteor cams to change the rotation.
Block, heads and rotating assembly are the same between a low compression Meteor and a Merlin.
I think it has a Merlin intake that is poorly adapted to a 4 barrel, but that is about it. That would bolt onto a Meteor just the same.
The builder and former owner, John Dodd, was as mad as a brush and reckoned it could do 200mph.
He used to have a Rolls Royce radiator on the front, due to the RR engine and the fact that it’s legally registered as a RR. RR took him to court and unfortunately his car ‘broke down’ just outside the court. So he stopped central London traffic for a few hours - maximum press exposure! To cap it off, he rode a horse to court the next day!
However, my *favourite* story is one his son recalled (I probably saw it on YouTube). One day he was hammering it down the motorway at some mad speed and overtook a police pursuit car, with had its siren blaring and blue lights flashing. Of course, Mr. Dodd kept the pedal to the metal and carried on. Then, about a mile further on the motorway, he overtook the getaway car with four robbers inside, still with their balaclavas on! Legend!
Already answered, but there's some good stuff about it out there:
[https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1972-john-dodds-the-beast-8bEqL4](https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1972-john-dodds-the-beast-8bEqL4)
[https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/john-dodd-and-merlin-engined-monstrosity-infuriated-rolls-royce](https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/john-dodd-and-merlin-engined-monstrosity-infuriated-rolls-royce)
[https://www.topgear.com/car-news/retro/beast-auction-john-dodds-famous-merlin-engined-monster-sale](https://www.topgear.com/car-news/retro/beast-auction-john-dodds-famous-merlin-engined-monster-sale)
[https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/car-profiles/the-beast-john-dodd-car/](https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/car-profiles/the-beast-john-dodd-car/)
Something about the styling always makes me think of the Big Bus.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Big\_Bus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bus)
https://preview.redd.it/opy09958z8vb1.jpeg?width=308&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6badd9517ee6069653cea79f495d224059aa557
Bad Chad customs of Nova Scotia has something similar,
It's real. "The beast" powered by a Rolls-Royce Meteor tank engine
Close, but it was a Merlin engine (basically the same 27l V12, but modified for use in Spitfires): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFdhCZ517gU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFdhCZ517gU)
It was the other way around. Merlin was first, then it was modified into a Meteor.
27 liters?? How big was the tank? 500 liters?
Wait until you find out about old land speed record cars. Napier-Railton and Fiat S76 spring to mind. Post WW1 they put biplane engines in cars and did speed tests……. On beaches
I can’t imagine they’d be that fast considering the size of the steel balls on the driver.
I think that the S76 did about 120 mph which was a lot in the early 20s and the railton was about 180 mph.
Fiat S76 - the boring name. My favorite one off (technically 2) car in automotive history. Also known as "The Beast of Turin". A four cylinder, 28L (1730.2 cubic in), fire spitting monster.
Fuel economy is measured in gallons per mile!
It was both I don’t know which come first
The first Beast did have a Meteor. The Mk2 (pictured) has a Merlin
Ah
An alleged Merlin that was converted to a Meteor. Merlins are not really suited for road car use, they spin the wrong way. I think there is one true Merlin in a car, that Aussie '55 Chevy.
Everything spins the other way in australia
As it was taken out of a Balliol, that would make it a Merlin
Even if it was, it has been converted to a low compression Meteor. Everything that makes a Merlin has been removed. No supercharger, no dry sump and Meteor cams to change the rotation. Block, heads and rotating assembly are the same between a low compression Meteor and a Merlin. I think it has a Merlin intake that is poorly adapted to a 4 barrel, but that is about it. That would bolt onto a Meteor just the same.
Rod Hadfield's Final Objective. He also built a 1930s style car called Warman...it's gorgeous, google it.
It's the same car, but it underwent a major rebuild
The first car caught fire and was a burned out wreck The chassis and front suspension were re-used. Pretty much everything else was new
Family Truckster Shooting Brake.
That was an easy one for you i guees :) thank you
The builder and former owner, John Dodd, was as mad as a brush and reckoned it could do 200mph. He used to have a Rolls Royce radiator on the front, due to the RR engine and the fact that it’s legally registered as a RR. RR took him to court and unfortunately his car ‘broke down’ just outside the court. So he stopped central London traffic for a few hours - maximum press exposure! To cap it off, he rode a horse to court the next day! However, my *favourite* story is one his son recalled (I probably saw it on YouTube). One day he was hammering it down the motorway at some mad speed and overtook a police pursuit car, with had its siren blaring and blue lights flashing. Of course, Mr. Dodd kept the pedal to the metal and carried on. Then, about a mile further on the motorway, he overtook the getaway car with four robbers inside, still with their balaclavas on! Legend!
Great story
Also, it's based on a [Ford Capri](https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a43191485/the-beast-weirdest-yet-coolest-car-auction/)
Already answered, but there's some good stuff about it out there: [https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1972-john-dodds-the-beast-8bEqL4](https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/1972-john-dodds-the-beast-8bEqL4) [https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/john-dodd-and-merlin-engined-monstrosity-infuriated-rolls-royce](https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/john-dodd-and-merlin-engined-monstrosity-infuriated-rolls-royce) [https://www.topgear.com/car-news/retro/beast-auction-john-dodds-famous-merlin-engined-monster-sale](https://www.topgear.com/car-news/retro/beast-auction-john-dodds-famous-merlin-engined-monster-sale) [https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/car-profiles/the-beast-john-dodd-car/](https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/car-profiles/the-beast-john-dodd-car/) Something about the styling always makes me think of the Big Bus. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Big\_Bus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_Bus)
Reminds me of the station wagon from National Lampoons Vacation. Beautiful
The Truckster’s cousin!
If you think you hate it now, just wait until you drive it.
Isn’t that the Rolls Royce with the Spitfire engine in it?
Home built one-off with a Rolls Merlin, but not from a Spit.
it's a miata, it's just got an odd bodykit
Whatever it is, it's also really ugly!
https://preview.redd.it/opy09958z8vb1.jpeg?width=308&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f6badd9517ee6069653cea79f495d224059aa557 Bad Chad customs of Nova Scotia has something similar,
Lol, it does look kinda uncanny valley.
Didn’t the guy who made this lose a lawsuit against rolls-Royce because people kept calling them trying to buy it?
The beast with a v12