Throw away all your expectations of engine swaps, because the story you’re about to read will forever ruin every single LS, 2JZ, rotary, Hellcat, and Tesla drivetrain transplant you’ve ever seen. That’s the mindset Daniel Werner must have had when he determined that perfect engine swap didn’t exist as he searched high and low for his next project. When the dots finally connected, Werner found himself in possession of a surplus tank engine and an ex-police car—the perfect recipe for one of the most obnoxious builds in the entire Kingdom of Sweden.
If you’re going to build a powerful car meant to break necks, it’s a go-big-or-go-home kind of deal.
According to the Facebook page documenting the car’s build and the YouTube video below, Werner knew this when beginning his search for his Frankencar’s perfect heart and settled on some sort of massive engine built by Rolls-Royce. As one does, he considered the Griffon, a 37-liter V12 airplane engine manufactured during World War II, but decided it was too big. There was also the Merlin, which was a smaller 27-liter V12, but couldn’t meet Werner’s outlandish power goals.
Finally, he turned his head towards some of the most famous tanks of the 1940s, like the Cromwell and Comet. These particular units were powered by a simplified version of Merlin engine called the Meteor. The two platforms were quite similar, even sharing the same 27-liter V12 heritage, but without the expensive light-alloys and factory supercharger.
Now came the time to decide on the platform. A matching Rolls-Royce would be the perfect starting point, but unjustifiably expensive, especially as Werner would be chopping the vehicle up to fashion the massive engine into place. Instead, a 2006 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor was spotted for sale more than 5,000 miles away in California—an instant buy.
The Meteor Interceptor was born.
By now, it’s certain that the biggest elephant in the room is power. Any sane person wouldn’t go through the efforts of stuffing a 1,650-cubic-inch 12-cylinder engine into a Ford Panther platform car and be satisfied with the Meteor’s factory 600 horsepower—the same goes for Werner. His goal? A twin-turbocharged masterpiece that pumps out 2,500 horsepower and is capable of reaching speeds of 200 mph.
While the Meteor Interceptor will get some off-the-shelf commercial parts (like its turbochargers, fueling, and Allison TH400 transmission), a great deal of the work will be accomplished with custom fabrication. For example, the antiquated Magento ignition setup will be replaced with an ECU and machined trigger wheel (as seen on the build’s Instagram page), plus, the entire front end of the car has bits and pieces worked from a C4 Corvette and Chevrolet C10 pickup to support the massive V12.
Despite the 60-year age difference between the engine and its host, they are a fantastically interesting pair that probably won’t be particularly good at any one specific thing. It’s not a drift build, not a drag car, and certainly not a nimble autocross car. But where the Meteor Interceptor excels is at being different.
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Images courtesy of: Patrik Karlsson at Kometfoto