"The Beast"

[100K+]

Has there been another spitfire powered car? ? My memory plays tricks on me but I recall a article in Cars and car conversions ?? of a vehicle with not as many headlights,and built from the get go with the spitfire merlin engine with the headline “200mph Rolls Royce”..I would have said built in 1970’s not 1980’s.
Again iirc 200mph was at 1500 rpm!
Cheers Bob

[Wagon Sailor]

Probably the same car. It had a front end rebuild ages ago.

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Wagon Sailor

Probably the same car. It had a front end rebuild ages ago.

I seem to remember reading the original was destroyed in a fire so he built another.

EDIT: From Wikipedia.....

In the 1960s, Paul Jameson put a Rolls-Royce Meteor (often mistakenly described as a Merlin) engine into a chassis he built himself.[3] He did not get around to building a body, and sold the car to Epsom automatic transmission specialist John Dodd, who had supplied the automatic gearbox. Fibre Glass Repairs in Bromley, Kent, fitted a fibreglass body and the car was named The Beast (mk1).[4] The Beast (mk1) was sponsored by British Petroleum and was extremely popular at car shows all over Europe. The engine is claimed to be a Merlin from a Boulton Paul Balliol training aircraft,[5] and drives a General Motors TH400 automatic transmission. It was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most powerful road car.[6] Unfortunately the first Beast (mk1) caught fire on the way back from a car show in Stockholm after meeting the King. John Dodd tried frantically to extinguish the fire but failed and The Beast was reduced to a burnt wreck. The Beast has used two different fibreglass bodies during its life; the first (mk1) a saloon shape in dark red and the second current existing Beast (mk2) a 2-door estate car in beige, based on a Ford Capri.[7] In both incarnations the car used Rolls-Royce grilles, badges, and hood ornaments, none of which were authorized by the company.

The Beast was brought to the attention of Rolls-Royce, who took Dodd to court after he refused to remove their radiator grille, badges, and Spirit of Ecstasy mascot. Dodd lost the court battle and the Rolls-Royce trademarked features were removed and the grille was replaced with one bearing Dodd's "JD" initials.[8][9] Dodd lived in Spain and owned the car, occasionally driving it to automotive shows until his death in early December 2022[8][5]

In the 1970s, Jameson built his first Merlin-engined car, this being a mid-engined six-wheeler.[10][better source needed] The engine of this vehicle was two-stage supercharged and was, in 1988, reportedly in a museum in The Netherlands.[11] His second was fitted in a 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II, now owned by TV presenter Jay Leno in California.

[Forg]

There have been a couple here, although I think it might be getting harder to get the engines as I've not heard of many such things in the last couple of decades (but maybe that's because it's the sort of stuff you'd come across in a car magazine ... y'know, one of those things they used to print onto paper).

This is one I remember, and when looking for references there were articles from numerous countries so it may have been sold outside of Oz?
https://www.whichcar.com.au/features...t-sports-coupe


Also it seems "coincidental" that YouTube would put a video into my "suggested" list when The Beast is "coincidentally" being sold ...
ie. ==> https://youtu.be/l_wHLZLsOkU

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by Forg

There have been a couple here, although I think it might be getting harder to get the engines as I've not heard of many such things in the last couple of decades (but maybe that's because it's the sort of stuff you'd come across in a car magazine ... y'know, one of those things they used to print onto paper).

This is one I remember, and when looking for references there were articles from numerous countries so it may have been sold outside of Oz?
https://www.whichcar.com.au/features...t-sports-coupe


Also it seems "coincidental" that YouTube would put a video into my "suggested" list when The Beast is "coincidentally" being sold ...
ie. ==> https://youtu.be/l_wHLZLsOkU

I think the engines are harder to buy and run but the problem I think with these conversions was always the gearbox and final drive….

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by Tannaton

I think the engines are harder to buy and run but the problem I think with these conversions was always the gearbox and final drive….

That is why John Dodd was successful with The Beast.