The Beast - like the “Beast” with a 27-liter Rolls-Royce engine “wiped its nose”

There were many rumors about this car, the assembly of which began in the 1960s. Correspondents from various publications wrote about the incredible technical characteristics of a station wagon sports car. And sometimes they just made up stories.


Nevertheless: it is a fact that a car equipped with a 27-liter engine was driving on public roads at that time and developing an incredible (the “maximum speed” could not be determined) speed of at least 300 km/h.


The car, scary in appearance, roared deafeningly and frightened the law-abiding Englishmen with its exterior. Let's start our story with the most important thing - what was under the hood of the car.

Engine

Most of the materials collected about this car claim that it was equipped with an aircraft power unit. This is true, but only partially. Under the hood was a converted version of the Rolls-Royce Meteor Merlin engine found in the Spitfire fighter aircraft. The same engine was used to equip British tanks, including the now “famous” Challenger.


True, the armored vehicles did not have a supercharger that delivered additional oxygen when the plane was at high altitude. The tank or car did not require this, and neither did the aluminum parts to reduce weight.


Paul Jameson, an ordinary Englishman, an automotive enthusiast, happened to buy a seized 12-cylinder tank engine for twenty pounds.


The sports car fan decided to restore his purchase and use it to build something original. And in fact, he succeeded. But first, Jameson began to create a car around the engine.


For his model, the garage designer borrowed the front chassis from Wolseley 6/99, and the rear suspension from a Jaguar Mark XJ12. In this regard, everything worked out for him, the problem was completely different: there was no suitable transmission for the powerful tank engine. Therefore, Paul was forced to turn to a specialist: he invited John Dodd to work together.


More precisely, he hired. And he got down to business with enthusiasm - he liked the idea of ​​​​a “super machine”. The transmission was based on a GM TH400 automatic transmission. In it, John changed the gear ratios to adapt the three-speed automatic transmission to the engine, which did not develop more than 2800 rpm.

The new owner continues to build the car

Why Paul Jameson sold the car to John is not entirely clear. Maybe the “pioneer” had lost his enthusiasm, or the person simply needed money: it doesn’t matter. The main thing is that the project was continued. However, Dodd received only a chassis with a two-ton engine and a gearbox connected to it by himself.


Needing a body, the new owner turned to Fiber Glass Repairs, a company that developed fiberglass bodies for sports cars. When experts saw the square profile chassis with a huge engine, they were somewhat taken aback. However, the order was accepted.


The result was something comparable, according to journalists, to a Ford Capri, but only in a “bloated” form. John named his creation The Beast, which means “beast.” The universalization method was actively used during the creation of the exterior: the windshield was taken from the Jensen FF, the one at the back was borrowed from the Reliant Scimitar.


But Dodd made a mistake about the radiator grille. Believing that since under the hood there is a power unit from Rolls-Royce, which made up half of the total weight of the car, then a part and emblem from a model of the same company - Corniche - will fit on the front.


Initially, the owners of the premium brand did not say anything about this. In addition, in 1975, after one of the exhibitions, to which the organizers gladly invited the owner of the “Beast,” the car was badly damaged in a fire. The body had to be rebuilt.

New generation

“Taking advantage” of the fact that the car was thoroughly damaged, John carried out some modernization. In particular, I installed a different steering system and replaced the front suspension - everything was taken from Austin Westminster. At the same time, the shock absorbers, springs, and axle shafts were strengthened: the engine vibrated seriously, loading the chassis.


They didn’t bother too much about the engine - they bought another one, exactly the same, that had previously been on a training aircraft. But the radiator grille was installed the same as it was before - from a Rolls-Royce. True, it never took root on the front of the “Beast”.

About the technical data of the machine

In 1973, John managed to “officially” accelerate the car to 294 km/h. This was certified by a commission specially created by the Royal Automobile Club. In reality, the engine produced no more than 650 hp. s., although Dodd claimed that it was all 1000. But even today it is impossible to understand how this 5,7 m long colossus with an engine weighing 2,2 tons was able to accelerate to such a speed with a low-speed internal combustion engine.


Four years later, the car was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest road car with an aircraft engine. The publication indicates a speed of 4 km/h, although this has not been officially confirmed. And the press even indicated acceleration to 321 km/h. Of course, Dodd was happy to receive such attention from journalists and was in no hurry to challenge the technical data of his car.

Litigation with Rolls-Royce

One of the reasons for the popularity of the homemade car, as Dodd himself said, is the premium brand emblem on the front. It was alleged that calls were regularly made to the highest offices of Rolls-Royce. Joyful subscribers enthusiastically told us that they had just been overtaken on the autobahn by “something” with the Rolls-Royce emblem at great speed and demanded that the same “miracle” be sold to them. It was rumored that Dodd himself called the company's management, apparently making fun of the fact that the eminent manufacturer was not able to create something like that.


Rolls-Royce's patience has run out. The company sued John for illegal use of the trademark. This caused a real boom in the press. Dodd, adding fuel to the fire, drove to court in his Beast, parking directly opposite the plaintiffs, who arrived, of course, in Rolls-Royces. The journalists filmed everything and were delighted when the tow trucks took away these cars for choosing the wrong parking spot. But Dodd parked as required by law and was not touched!


How did it all end? On the last day of the hearing, the lawyer resigned, saying: this process is “a mockery of justice.” Dodd expectedly lost the case and was fined 5 thousand pounds. And since he was late with the payment, he was sentenced to six months in prison. After serving his sentence, John left for Spain. Its southern region, Costa del Crime, was famous for not turning over visitors to English justice.


And John had good reasons to fear him - the designer was threatened with confiscation of the “Beast”. The latter in Spain has become a local landmark. And yet, the car returned to its historical homeland, albeit with a redesigned radiator grille. John drew his own initials on it. And the technique became a “TV star”, taking part in episodes of the popular program Top Gear (2008).

Conclusion

John Dodd passed away in 2022, having lived 90 years. His “Beast” was sold last spring for 72 thousand 500 pounds. Once upon a time, an unknown transmission repairman proved that you can become famous by creating something that goes beyond the usual, and at the same time outwit a wealthy concern. But the point is not only in the unique car - many similar ones were created, but in the personality of John Dodd himself, who, against all odds, managed to achieve his goal.