The Rolls-Royce Merlin, although designed as an aero engine, was used in other applications both on land and at sea. A derivative called the Meteor was developed for use in tanks.
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Automotive
Michael Wilcock of Sussex, England, built the Swandean Spitfire Special, using a Merlin XXV engine acquired from a scrap yard for one hundred and forty pounds. The engine was installed in a home-brewed chassis confected from two Daimler Dingo scout car chassis. The car was run in the Brighton Speed Trials in 1953, and was sold to James Duffy of St. Louis, Missouri, in 1956. As of 2005, the vehicle is still in St. Louis, where it is undergoing restoration.
The Beast
In the 1960s, Paul Jameson put a Rolls-Royce Meteor (often mistakenly described as a Merlin) engine into a chassis he built himself. He did not get around to building a body, and sold the car to Epsom automatic transmission specialist John Dodd, who had supplied the automatic gearbox. Fibre Glass Repairs in Bromley, Kent, fitted a fibreglass body and the car was named The Beast (mk1) The Beast (mk1) was sponsored by British Petroleum and was extremely popular at car shows all over Europe. The engine is alleged to have come from a Boulton Paul Balliol training aircraft, and drives a General Motors TH400 automatic transmission. It was once listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's most powerful road car. Unfortunately the first Beast (mk1) caught fire on the way back from a car show in Stockholm after meeting the King, John Dodd tried frantically to extinguish the fire but failed and The Beast was reduced to a burnt wreck. The Beast has used two different fibreglass bodies during its life; the first (mk1) a saloon shape in dark red and the second current existing Beast (mk2) a 2-door estate car in beige. In both incarnations the car used Rolls-Royce grilles, badges, and hood ornaments, none of which were authorized by the company.
The Beast was brought to the attention of Rolls-Royce, who took Dodd to court after he refused to remove their radiator grille, badges, and Spirit of Ecstasy mascot. Dodd lost the court battle and the Rolls-Royce trademarked features were removed and the grille was replaced with one bearing Dodd's "JD" initials. Dodd now lives in Spain and still owns the car, occasionally driving it to automotive shows.
In the 1970s, Jameson built his first Merlin-engined car, this being a mid-engined six-wheeler. The engine of this vehicle was two-stage supercharged and was, in 1988, reportedly in a museum in The Netherlands. His second was fitted in a 1920s Rolls Royce Phantom, now owned by TV presenter Jay Leno in California.
Final Objective
Recently in Australia, Rod Hadfield, of the Castlemaine Rod Shop, used the Merlin engine in a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air sports coupe, which was named Final Objective. The car has an aircraft-themed paint scheme.
Rover SD1
A Rover SD1 was substantially modified by Charlie Broomfield using a Rover Meteor tank derivative of the Merlin. A car mechanic in the UK, he now gives input as a technical guru for Practical Performance Magazine. The car is matt black and the stated aim is to achieve 320kmh/200 mph.
Boat racing
In the mid-1940s early 1950s, aviation engines gained in popularity as powerplants of choice for unlimited hydroplane racing given their relatively high power-to-weight ratio, reliability, and availability. Starting with the Miss Windsor raceboat at Detroit in 1946, several ever-more-powerful variants of the Merlin were so used, over the next decades, in a heated battle against the equally popular Allison V-1710. In unlimited hydroplane racing, both were eventually supplanted by gas turbine engines, which exhibit even more favourable power-to-size and power-to-weight ratios.
Some of the most significant Merlin-powered hydroplanes include:
Meteor
The Meteor was a tank engine developed from the Merlin in World War II. It was detuned, did not have a supercharger, and ran on lower-octane pool petrol (as did the early Merlins). Manufacture was transferred from Rolls-Royce to Rover, who developed the smaller Meteorite V-8 engine from it.