The Beast: former most powerful car – with 27-litre V12 – is for sale

A one-off car described as the ‘ultimate expression of British engineering endeavour’ is up for auction via the Car & Classic website. 

‘The Beast’ has held mythical status since the 1960s – and starred in countless magazine features. It was even listed in the 1977 Guinness Book of Records as the ‘most powerful car in the world’. 

Now The Beast is looking for a new home after its creator, John Dodd, passed away aged 90 last year.

From Meteor to Merlin

The Beast started life in 1966, as a bespoke rolling chassis built by Paul Jameson. Despite this being his first road car project, Jameson naturally decided to install a 27-litre Rolls-Royce Meteor engine taken from a tank.

John Dodd helped build a transmission to manage the huge engine, and later purchased The Beast from Jameson. Dodd also added the first bodyshell, complete with a Rolls-Royce front grille. 

This landed Dodd in trouble with Rolls-Royce’s legal department, but a fire wrecked the car before court proceedings began. 

Dodd took this as an opportunity to fit a new 27-litre Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 aero engine instead. He also commissioned the outrageous body The Beast still wears today.

The belly of The Beast

Rolls-Royce was still unimpressed, with the court case forcing Dodd to take the beast out of the country to Spain. He later changed the front grille to the current ‘JD’ design, and would bring The Beast back to Britain each year for its MOT. 

The Merlin engine endowed the car with ‘at least’ 750hp, and meant it was registered as a Rolls-Royce on the V5 document. In 1973, a top speed run verified by the RAC saw The Beast reach 183mph.   

A three-speed automatic transmission helps control the vast amount of power. Thankfully, disc brakes are fitted all-round, along with heavy-duty suspension.

A mythical creature

The Beast is a truly remarkable vehicle: the product of one man’s vision to produce a legendary car. 

In a world of downsized engines, using the 27-litre V12 from a Spitfire fighter plane seems ludicrous, as does fuel economy of 2mpg. But clearly such practical concerns miss the point.

The auction for The Beast starts on Thursday 9 March 2023 and will last for seven days. Whoever wins will certainly own a car like no other.

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