The John Dodd ‘Beast’ Will Go Up for Grabs Later This Month
Those looking for something truly unique for their car collection will want to keep an eye on an upcoming U.K. auction.
Historics Auctioneers will put John Dodd’s “Beast” custom car up for bid later this month. The 19-foot shooting brake is notable for a number of reasons, chief of which is the 27-liter Rolls-Royce V-12 that resides under its stretched-out hood. Yes, you read that right: 27-liters.
The Beast is, to put it quite simply, one of the most ridiculous cars you will ever see. Its roots can be traced back to the 1960s, when engineer Paul Jameson built a custom chassis for a Rolls-Royce Meteor tank engine and Dodd, a transmission specialist, equipped it with a custom GM Hydramatic 400 gearbox. The first vehicle to bear the Beast name was destroyed in a fire in the early 1970s, but Dodd wouldn’t let that dissuade him. He set about rebuilding it, this time with a Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12, which was the same engine that powered the Supermarine Spitfire and Avro Lancaster airplanes used by the Royal Airforce in World War II.
1972 John Dodd “Beast”
Historics Auctioneers
It’s the second Beast which is the more famous car and the one that will be sold by Historics. It was acquired by the unnamed seller earlier in 2023 following Dodd’s death. They’ve done some work to the car since the purchase, including covering it in a two-tone metallic gray wrap—the original yellow finish still remains below—and retrimming its interior to make it more comfortable. The car has also been re-outfitted with a Rolls-Royce Pantheon Grille and Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament, two features that Top Gear reports Dodd was forced to remove in the early 1980s following a trademark lawsuit from the automaker.
So, how powerful is a 27-liter V-12? Around the first time the Beast was sold earlier this decade, Car and Driver reported that the mill made between 700 hp and 800 hp. Thanks to all this grunt the car was able to reach a top speed of 183 mph, which briefly made it the fastest production car on the planet according to Guinness World Records. That number may be out of reach four decades later, but the car is said to still be drivable.
The 27-liter Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 engine
Historics Auctioneers
The Beast will be sold during a sale Historic is overseeing at Mercedes-Benz World at the Brooklands motor racing circuit in Surrey, England, on Saturday, Nov. 29. The auction house expects the one-off V-12 to sell for between £75,000 and £100,000, or roughly $98,000 and $132,000.
Click here for more photos of John Dodd’s “Beast.”
