Style, like all creative things, is subjective. As such, it lasts cojones to bestow the title of “World’s Ugliest Car” when there are many others to choose from. If you have a problem with that, would “The World’s Ugliest Shooting Brake” suffice? No, given John Dodd’s The Monster, we’re sure to think of Victoria’s Scones as something that elicits, “Lord, what on earth is this, dear sir?”
It all started with a gentleman named Paul Jameson, an automotive technocrat of British persuasion who designed the British engineering marvel, the 27 liter Rolls-Royce Meteor V12 (an updated version of the Rolls Merlin V12, which is often found in tanks). Jameson built a chassis that used parts from British vehicles such as Jaguar, Wolseley, Jensen, Lotus and Reliant. Jameson met a guy named John Dodd who he commissioned to make an automatic transmission for the chassis.
Jameson soon offered Dodd the vehicle in bodyless form. Dodd then sent the chassis to Fiber Glass Repairs (whose owners also owned Santa Pod Raceway) to make a body for the chassis. “It then received a Rolls-Royce grille and mascot to indicate the engine’s provenance,” says Car & Classic, a UK-based online auction.
After a trip to Sweden caused fire damage, Dodd rebuilt the car as seen here; also new was a 750bhp Merlin V12 plus a Rolls-Royce grille and a mascot from Silver Shadow. The Manchester company filed a trademark infringement complaint and sued when Dodd failed to remove the items. Dodd lost, then lost the appeal, refused to pay the fine, and then emigrated to Spain to avoid an arrest warrant. Naturally, The Beast went with it, though it now wears “JD” on the traditional grille.
The original body had some Ford Capri influence, while the second one was more of a beige shooting brake with some features that Clark Griswold would be proud of. In 1973, they officially reached a top speed of 183 mph, not bad for a two-ton, 19-footer. something. The Beast was made in 1977 The Guinness Book of Records as the most powerful car on the road, although no mention was made of its 2mpg fuel appetite.
In its current form, The Beast “has a unique interior with a series of red switches that are used to initiate the Merlin engine start-up sequence. The front suspension uses Austin components, while the rear comes from a Jaguar XJ12 and includes a heavy-duty Currie axle.
“This is a real once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I hope the lucky new buyer will continue to use and enjoy the car as John did,” says Car & Classic CEO Tom Wood. If you can get past the style of the car, you should know that the auction starts on March 9, 2023 and will last for seven days.
