The engine that saved a plane. What does an aircraft engine have to do with cars? In World War II, the Rolls-Royce Merlin V12 powered Spitfire planes, but in the 1960s, engineers dropped it into a custom car nicknamed The Beast. With 27 liters and over 1,000 horsepower, it shredded transmissions and snapped axles until custom parts were made. The car roared like a bomber plane and was banned multiple times for noise and safety, but it kept returning, proving too wild to silence. The Merlin engin