Once a Mighty Icon: The Story of the Boldly Modified ‘Rolls-Royce’ that Once Outshone Lamborghini and Ferrari

Beneath the peculiar exterior of this extraordinary car lies an immense power –

Before the American presidential limousine earned the moniker “The Beast,” there was another vehicle that claimed this title. Born during the era of the British car modification trend in the 1970s, “The Beast” earned its place in the Guinness World Records as the most powerful road car in the world in 1977.

Outperforming contemporary Ferraris and Lamborghinis, this peculiar-looking car often graced the pages of car magazines and even economic newspapers as it became the center of a legal battle involving Rolls-Royce.

This car was dubbed the “Beast” not only for its appearance. Underneath its hood, it featured the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 27L engine. This engine wasn’t used in ordinary four-wheeled vehicles, but rather in the legendary Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane fighter planes that triumphed over the German Luftwaffe in the iconic Battle of Britain in 1940.

The tale of this car begins in the mid-1960s when Paul Jameson fitted a tank engine, the Meteor V12, onto a custom chassis. However, a suitable transmission was needed to handle the power output of around 750 horsepower and a torque of 1,030 Nm to the rear wheels. Jameson contacted automatic transmission expert John Dodd, who later took over the project. The result was a vehicle that was dubbed the “ugliest Ford Capri in the world” (as described by Carscoops).

The original body was damaged in a fire when Dodd was driving in Sweden. Therefore, the car had to be rebuilt with a new body and engine. The exterior now featured a Silver Shadow radiator grille and the iconic Rolls-Royce beige paint. The tank engine was replaced with an authentic Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 aircraft engine, excluding the supercharger used in planes.

The car has been preserved almost intact to this day, with one exception –
Rolls-Royce didn’t embrace Dodd’s creativity and took him to court. Dodd himself was quite upset, as he believed that a car utilizing a Rolls-Royce engine should have the blessing of Rolls-Royce’s presence. Dodd attracted public attention when he brought The Beast to a London court and defiantly drove away after being accused by the judge of having an “unbecoming attitude.”

As a result, Dodd lost the lawsuit and had to take the car to Spain, replacing the Rolls-Royce radiator grille with one bearing his own name. Despite losing the Rolls-Royce radiator grille, the car still stands out with its 8 headlights, reverse-opening hood, distinctive yellow paint, and a body that appears as if crafted in haste.

After Dodd’s passing in 2022, his family felt it was time for the car to find a new owner. They put “The Beast” up for auction.

The original car officially reached a top speed of 295 km/h in the 1970s. However, no one knows exactly how much power lies beneath the hood, and whether that speed is still achievable today. This might not matter much to those willing to acquire the “Beast,” as the car’s quirky appearance and equally eccentric history are enough to captivate any collector.

What’s particularly intriguing is that, despite forcing Dodd to change the radiator grille, Rolls-Royce’s official registration documents still classify the vehicle as a… Rolls-Royce.

Here are some additional images of “Rolls-Royce” The Beast: