Rolls-Royce Merlin alternative uses Rolls-Royce Merlin alternative uses 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. 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.
Rolls-Royce RB211 turn Rolls-Royce from a significant player in the aero-engine industry into a global leader. Already in the early 1970s, the engine was reckoned by the company to be capable of at least 50 years of continuous development. The RB211 was officially superseded in the 1990s by the Rolls-Royce Trent family of engines, the conceptual offspring of the RB211. In 1966, American Airlines announced a requirement for a new short-medium range airliner with a focus on low-cost per-seat operations. While it was looking for a twin-engined plane, the aircraft manufacturers needed more than one customer to justify developing a new airliner.