This utterly bonkers machine, wrapped around a thundering World War II plane engine, has roared back onto the auction scene—dragging with it all the wild lore of a car so unhinged that Rolls-Royce once dragged its creator to court. Nicknamed The Beast (because what else fits?), it’s the brainchild of John Dodd, a man who clearly worshipped at the altar of raw power. Its centerpiece? A monstrous 27-liter Merlin V12, the kind that once propelled Spitfires and Lancasters through wartime skies.
The beastly engine didn’t just influence the build—it owned it. Dodd had to stretch the front end into something you’d expect on a cartoon dragster, with a silhouette that’s equal parts absurd and mesmerizing. Forget making the engine fit the car; Dodd welded, hammered, and cobbled together a chassis and body purely to serve that brute of a motor. For years, whispers of the car swirled like exhaust fumes, more urban legend than reality.
Then came the ’80s, when Rolls-Royce threw a legal tantrum over Dodd borrowing their fancy grille and hood ornament. Never mind that Vickers Engineering owned Rolls at the time, tangled in Britain’s industrial chaos. The lawsuit barely dented The Beast’s notoriety; if anything, it fueled the myth.
After Dodd’s passing, the car briefly went under the hammer in 2023, fetching £72,000 before vanishing again. Now it’s back, flaunting a slick two-tone grey wrap (peel it off, and the OG beige still lurks underneath), plus a retrimmed interior that’s almost polite compared to the mechanical madness up front. Oh, and that Rolls grille? Restored—because irony tastes better when it’s polished.
Under the hood (if you can call it that) sits the same Merlin engine that hurled Mustangs and Lancasters across battlefields. Stripped of its supercharger, it still churns out a fist-shaking 800 horses, with torque figures that shift depending on who’s telling the tale. Dodd slapped on a three-speed auto—because of course he did, the man lived for gearboxes.
And here’s the kicker: despite being longer than a limo (19 feet, give or take), The Beast allegedly topped 180 mph. Dodd wasn’t just a builder—he was a madman behind the wheel, piloting this thing across Spain like it was perfectly normal.
Now it’s up for grabs at Historic Auctioneers’ Brooklands Velocity event in Surrey. For collectors craving a ride with more legend than logic, this might be the only shot. Miss it, and good luck finding another automotive fever dream like this ever again.
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