Lister

British specialist sports car maker The Lister Motor Company is currently the fastest growing company within the competitive British motor industry business sector, and the 28th largest in the UK market, according to independent analysis results just revealed by leading business finance specialists Plimsoll Publishing Limited. This research supports the fact that Lister’s sales have increased by 140 per cent over the previous 12 month period. This news follows Lister’s recent announcement that to date it is unique in being the only automotive company making original specification continuation cars that are eligible for fully-legal registration and road use. Unlike other continuation specials which are strictly limited to track use only, the new road legal Lister Knobbly is fully eligible for IVA type approval.

JD Classics – one of the world’s leading classic car specialists – secured a race victory at Brands Hatch over the weekend, to continue its winning streak three events into the season. The team’s legendary Costin Lister was victorious in the Stirling Moss Trophy, with an XK120 supported by JD Classics finishing second-in-class in the Woodcote Trophy. The Costin first took to the track late on Saturday morning for its 30-minute qualifying session. The hard work of JD Classics’ Competition Department, both back at their Maldon HQ and trackside, shone through as Chris Ward drove the Lister to a blistering 1:43.065 time just five laps in. The time proved to unbeatable, with the nearest competitor – a Lotus 15 – still more than two seconds off the pace. 

The last Lister racing car of the 1950s, the Costin holds a very special place in the history of the Cambridge company following on from the famous Knobbly. The latter was a very successful racer but Brian Lister realised that in order to increase performance he had to find a way to improve its aerodynamics. So, for the 1959 racing season, he called on the skills of Frank Costin, brother of Mike Costin of Cosworth fame, an expert aerodynamicist who had designed bodies for Lotus and Vanwall. Costin created an all-new sleek, low-drag aluminum body – and the Lister Costin was born.

Lister Motor Company is proud to announce that its Knobbly Stirling Moss edition will be appearing at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance this Saturday, 20th August. The limited run car will be appearing at the Inn at Spanish Bay™ in Pebble Beach at 09.30am PDT, in the Pebble Beach Classic Car Forum pavilion. Sir Stirling Moss will be the guest of honour. To attend the event, interested guests are asked to register at their earliest convenience at https://www.pbclassiccarforum.com Just 10 special edition cars will be produced, each featuring a magnesium body and special lightweight specification – just like the original ‘works’ racing Knobblys of the 1950s. These cars follow on from an initial run of 10 aluminium-bodied continuations – now all sold out – production of which began in 2014 at George Lister Engineering. Each is built using the same techniques […]

Lister Motor Company is proud to announce the launch of a limited run of 10 special edition cars, the Lister Knobbly Jaguar Stirling Moss, with each car featuring a handmade magnesium body and special lightweight specification – just like the original ‘works’ racing Knobblys of the 1950s. These cars follow on from an initial run of 10 aluminium-bodied continuations – now all sold out – production of which began in 2014 at George Lister Engineering. Each is built using the same techniques as the original 1950s Knobbly, following the acquisition of Lister Motor Company by Andrew and Lawrence Whittaker in 2013.

Following the end of another incredible season of wheel-to-wheel racing in classic Listers, Lawrence Whittaker – CEO of Lister Motor Company – has presented the Brian Lister Cup to Tony Wood, Will Nuthall and their team for a sensational racing comeback in 2015 in the Woods’ family Lister-Jaguar Knobbly. Presented at a star-studded dinner hosted by the Royal Automobile Club, the Brian Lister Cup went to Wood following a herculean effort that saw his priceless Lister-Jaguar Knobbly repaired in less than 40 days following an accident before the season began. Wood and his team then went on to grab three podium finishes and fifth place overall at the end of the season.

Lister Cars is eagerly anticipating this weekend’s Goodwood Revival with a host of Lister competition cars taking to the famous track. Some nine Lister racing cars, including five ‘Knobbly’ models, have been entered into the fiercely competitive Sussex Trophy on Sunday September 13th for world championship sports racing cars built between 1950 and 1960. In Goodwood’s own words the racers featured in The Sussex Trophy are “big, powerful cars, perfectly suited to Goodwood’s fast, sweeping curves, and which always produce a stunning spectacle.” The nine Listers will compete in an expected 31-car field racing against other period machines including several examples of the Jaguar D-type and Maserati Tipo 61 ‘Birdcage’ as well as the Ferrari 246S Dino and Aston Martin DBR2 among others. The privately-entered Listers include one Lister-Jaguar ‘Flat Iron’, three Lister-Jaguar Costins, three Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobblys’ and two Lister-Chevrolet […]

A wide variety of Lister models took part in the Stirling Moss Trophy at Silverstone Classic over the weekend, crossing the finish line second and third in a competitive field of pre-’61 sports racing cars. The Lister Jaguar Knobbly ‘5’ had looked a certain winner as the race began to unfold, with a brilliant start taking it from sixth to first on the opening lap. For the next five laps Listers diced for the first three positions, with the Knobbly ‘8’ and Lister Costin Jaguar ‘16’ chasing down the leader. The Ferrari 246S ‘46’ was battling hard, making its way through the grid and dicing with the Listers every step of the way. Eventually it was sitting second just behind the Lister Jaguar Knobbly ‘5’ and finally jumped in to the lead during the pitstop window. But the Listers continued […]

The founders of most automakers aren’t still with us. Enzo Ferrari, Ettore Bugatti, Henry Ford, Louis Chevrolet, Kiichiro Toyoda, Soichiro Honda and so many others have long since left this world. Those who are still with us – like Christian von Koenigsegg, Horacio Pagani and Elon Musk – got into the game much later. Brian Lister hit the scene a long time ago, but until just the other day, he was still with us. But now his time on the racing circuit has come to an end. The founder of Lister Cars, one of Britain’s most legendary racing constructors, was born on July 12, 1926, the scion of a proud family of engineers. After training as an engineer himself, he joined the Royal Air Force just after the end of the Second World War, and soon after started trading up […]

Resurrected British automaker Lister Motor Company has released two sketches of their forthcoming hypercar. Back in September 2013 we heard Lister saying they are back in action and will resume production after an absence of almost 25 years and now the company has provided a first glimpse at their brand new hypercar. It won’t come cheap that’s for sure as Lister says it will cost somewhere in the region of £2 million (€2.54 million or $3.2 million) which means that it will probably go up against the LaFerrari, P1, 918 Spyder, One:1 and the Veyron successor. Talking to Auto Express, Lawrence Whittaker, managing director of Lister Cars, said the hypercar will be powered by a massive V12 7.8-liter engine capable of developing no less than 1,000 bhp (745 kW) which will be enough for a remarkable top speed of 250 […]

After a 25-year absence, one of the great names from British sports car manufacturing will return. Lister has announced its comeback to the British car industry after a 25-year absence, with immediate plans to re-introduced the famous Lister Cars is aLister ‘Knobbly’ Jaguar, raced by the likes of Sir Stirling Moss. British sports car manufacturer founded by George Lister in 1954 in Cambridge, England, which became known for its involvement in motorsport. Sold in 1986, Laurence Pearce produced variants of the Jaguar XJS before producing a bespoke sports car, the Lister Storm. Since May 2013 Lister Cars has been purchased by Warranty Wise Insurance Services T/A Warrantywise. Returning to its Cambridge roots, Lister plans to build a 21st century version identical to that of the 1958 race car. The original drawings and manufacturing jigs created by Brian Lister have all been re-commissioned and race proven Jaguar D-Type-specification engines […]

A delectable line-up of Lister Jaguars – the Cambridge-built sports cars that took the big manufacturers on at their own game and won – will be showcased at this year’s Race Retro, held at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry from 12-14 March. Examples of the earliest models – including founder Brian Lister’s first car, through the classic Lister ‘knobbly’ and Costin-bodied models and onto the 1990s Storm, which saw the name’s revival, will be reunited with the man behind the marque. Their appearance coincides with a book written by highly-regarded Jaguar enthusiast Paul Skilleter, which chronicles the company’s sports cars, their founder Brian Lister and their successes during the late-1950s. Closely associated with driver Archie Scott-Brown, Listers originally used MG and Bristol engines, but the switch to Jaguar engines and the shape of the car, dubbed ‘knobbly’, brought the company unparalleled success […]