[ROVERNET - UK] Merlins and Meteors

[Trevor Colebrook]

The Merlin name tag is often applied to any V12 Rolls Royce engine, not
just the aero engine fitted to the Spitfire, Lancaster  etc..  I believe
the name was first used in a Phantom of the 1930s.

The V12 engine fitted in tanks and subsequently used in several road cars
was really a Meteor, a similar engine to the Merlin but lacking the
supercharger. 
These engines were built not just by Rover but also by Ford Motor Company.
My local engine reconditioning company has such an engine, Ford built,  in
its reception area

One of the more (in)famous road cars using the Meteor engine was built in
the 1970s by Roy Phelps, the Santa Pod promoter. This used a fibreglass
body, loosley based on a Ford Capri, over a custom chassis. It was 
pictured in the Daily Mail only last week in response to a query about aero
engined road cars.