WWII Fighter Plane's 27-liter V-12 Powers Jay Leno's Rolls-Royce

During WWII, about 150,000 27-liter Merlin V-12 engines were built by Rolls-Royce. Even though several of them lived, none of them were expected to end up in a car on the street. However, a group of aero-engine aficionados, including Jay Leno, appeared. So started a 25-year journey to convert a 1934 Rolls-Royce into a Merlin-powered monster car.

This car was obtained from a British guy approximately three decades ago by Leno, who also has a Rolls-Royce Meteor-powered Bentley. It was a Rolls-Royce without a solid body. As a result, Leno requested the help of his top fabricator, Jim Hall, whose first challenge was to find out how to fit six twin-Weber carburetors into a Merlin. A 3D printer was required.

Leno's team rebuilt the chassis with a six-speed manual New Venture Gear 5600 transmission; the same one seen in Cummins-powered Ram pickup trucks, in addition to producing a period-correct aluminum body with a grille that wouldn't look weird on a Rolls.

Several other components assisted this backward-mounted motor in adjusting to its new close-to-the-ground job. Additional electric cooling pumps, thicker wire wheels, a Dana 60 rear axle with a custom driveshaft, a 24-volt electrical system, and two 30-gallon fuel tanks have been added to this 1934 chassis.

This aero giant is a 4800 lb-ft machine with no brake booster, thanks to the Merlin motor alone weighing 1800 lbs. Despite this, Leno has already driven it over 800 miles, undoubtedly screaming the entire time. This is something he's been looking forward to for almost a quarter-century.