Later this month, the very strange “Beast” will be sold at a UK museum auction. It has a big 27-liter Rolls-Royce V-12 engine that looks a lot like the one in the WWII Spitfire fighter plane. It was sold a few years ago, fixed up, and lacquered. It now has a Rolls-Royce bonnet. Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, came out last month. It’s a scary story about what happens when one man’s idea goes too far. Even though the scary season finished more than a week ago, another crazy scientist’s creation is about to be put up for auction, ready to scare a new master. It really is called the “Beast,” and its awful number is 27. That’s how many liters the Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 engine from WWII that drives this huge two-door wagon holds. That’s not a mistake, I’m sorry. Twenty-seven. Supermarine Spitfires shot down Messerschmitts and Junkers from the sky over England during the Battle of Britain. They had the same amount of power as five-and-a-half Mustang V-8s. Hold on to your crumpets if you find LS swaps exciting. This one-of-a-kind shot brake was made by the wonderfully strange John Dodd, who was a businessman with a successful automatic transmission repair shop. I often quote from Jurassic Park, “So worried about whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” His work is a great example of this. You can’t help but respect Dodd’s work. Rolls-Royce’s legal team was annoyed that he seemed to really enjoy creating and driving the Beast. Paul Jameson, an English craftsman, made the frame. Jameson first used the Merlin V-12 from a Centurion tank. Dodd bought the parts and built a fiberglass body around them. Jameson and Dodd knew each other through the supply link for the automatic transmission. The current owner bought the car from Dodd’s family two years ago and had it repainted in two shades of gray and silver. The interior was also painted a businesslike black, and “The Beast” was written on the headrests. The car was first painted in a tan-over-tan color that looked very 1970s. Even though the ending isn’t very smooth, you can picture the late John Dodd smiling down and nodding his head. The big V-12 engine under the hood is still the spare unit he took from a crashed training plane, and his initials are still on the steering wheel. This car, which had an automatic three-speed gearbox, set the Guinness World Record for speed in 1973, reaching 183 mph. The Spirit of Ecstasy and the Rolls-Royce bonnet on this car might be what makes it most appealing. At first, he thought the crown should go to a Rolls-Royce V12-powered car, even if it were a military-grade car. The measure that Rolls-Royce took against him worked. You can’t blame the company, though, because Dodd would call the sales office and pretend to be a rich customer who wanted to buy a fast Rolls-Royce coupe that he had just seen a wave of V-12s screaming down the highway. Someone is very brave to have cleaned up the Beast while protecting its soul, which can’t be destroyed. The new owner will have to add to their garage to fit that very long nose. Historics Auctioneers will sell the Beast at the sale on November 29. This is your chance. There is no doubt about it: it is a monster. On the other hand, one was made with love.
