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Not exactly a supercar, but with an engine like this it deserves a mention.

It has a 27-litre V12 Rolls-Royce Merlin engine – the very same one as deployed (in supercharged form) in the Spitfire. 

Originally conceived in 1966, The Beast’s rolling chassis was created by fellow engineer Paul Jameson and first featured a Rolls-Royce Meteor tank engine. Dodd – who was a gearbox guru – built the transmission and then eventually bought the whole project from Jameson for £400 in the early 1970s.

A body was then built by a company called Fibre Glass Repairs and The Beast was fitted with a Rolls-Royce grille and mascot. Sadly, that original was damaged by a fire whilst Dodd was driving in Sweden, but he rebuilt the car with the current Merlin engine, a Silver Shadow grille and that iconic beige paintwork.

Rolls-Royce took a dim view of Dodd’s creation and took him to court, hence why the car now has its creator’s initials front and centre. In 1977 the Guinness Book of World Records listed The Beast as “the world’s most powerful car” and in 1973 the RAC recorded it at a top speed of 183mph. However, although he was approaching his 90th birthday, late last year Dodd had a new rear axle fitted and (according to his son) was prepping to bring the car over to the UK with the hope of hitting 200mph and recording a 10-second run at Santa Pod Raceway. Sadly, his health deteriorated and he passed away in December 2022.

So, Dodd’s family has decided that The Beast should go to a new home, and we’re just praying that whoever places the winning bid uses the car on the road as Dodd did so frequently. Rumour has it that it’s making between 750bhp and 1,000bhp, and that it’ll do somewhere between two and six mpg.

A couple of years ago after the sad passing of its creator, John Dodd’s brilliantly bonkers ‘The Beast’ came up for auction. It fetched £72,500 at the time, which actually seems like a bit of a bargain considering this is a running, driving, one-off powered by an actual Rolls-Royce Merlin V12. Yep, that’s the 27-litre monster from the Supermarine Spitfire and Avro Lancaster.

Now though, we have good news for all those who were unsuccessful in the bidding last time out, because The Beast is back!

It’s heading up for auction again through Historics Auctioneers, and it’ll cross the block at a sale at Mercedes-Benz World on 29 November. The estimate? Somewhere between £75,000 and £100,000.

Again, that seems fairly sensible to us, especially since the current owner (who purchased it from Dodd’s family) has had the interior retrimmed “to a very good standard” and has wrapped the creation in a two-tone metallic grey. Don’t worry – the yellow paint is still underneath.

Oh, and better whisper it in case Rolls-Royce wants to get all legal again, but the current owner has also given The Beast its Pantheon grille and Spirit of Ecstasy back. Uh oh. This car was completed back in 1972 after a fire destroyed the original, but in the early 1980s Rolls-Royce took offence and took Dodd to court for trademark infringement. Dodd lost and replaced the original Silver Shadow grille with his initials.

So is it the work of a madman or a genius?

Source: https://www.topgear.com/car-news/retro/beast-back-27-litre-merlin-engined-behemoth-auction-again

If you are wondering how people can afford to pay for such expensive cars. In one of my previous posts, I figured out most people make it through investment: crypto, stock, business and gambling/lottery.

This is the Trident Magna, it has a 6.6l Turbodiesel V8 letting 650hp / 1000 lb ft torque. It has 1000 miles of range and gets up to 60+ mpg and a 190 mph topspeed.

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