Lister Portfolio

The fairytale legend

In 1953 Brian Lister petitioned his father to allow him time off from working at the George Lister factory to build a race car. Horace Lister agreed. If he hadn’t, the face of UK motorsport might have looked very different.

Even though Brian Lister was only active as a racing car constructor for little more than five years, his success shook the foundations of the established racing car teams to the very core.

With a shoestring budget compared to his competitors and often working into the early hours of the morning, Brian and the craftsmen from George Lister Engineering entered their first race in 1954.

In an era when supercars had engines fitted behind the driver, the Lister Storm 6,996cc V12 Jaguar unit was placed ahead of the driver, and was the largest V12 engine fitted to a production road car since World War II.

In their first full season of FIA GT competition, Lister were crowned Championship winners, with Julian Bailey and Jamie Campbell-Walter winning the GT Drivers’ Championship with victories in Valencia, Estoril, Silverstone, Zolder and Magny-Cours, in the Lister Storm GTM002.

Costin

The Lister Centenary model was developed, each bearing a sterling silver Chassis ID plate with a special 1990 hallmark incorporating the Lister logo. Only four were built and sold - they are a monument to the enterprise founded by George Lister 100 years ago, and the skills of the Lister workforce.

Between 1954 and 1959 only 50 original cars were produced but they won, or were placed, over two thousand times in track events worldwide.

1953

1954

1955

1957

1959

1986

1990

1993

1995

1996

2000

2005

In order for Lister to continue being competitive in the big-engine classes throughout the 1959 season… The Lister Costin was born. Designed by British engineer and designer Frank Costin and produced by Lister, this Jaguar powered racing car was regarded as the fastest Lister in Europe.

Lister enjoyed their first ever race success in April 1954, when Archie Scott-Brown secured first place at National Snetterton in his Lister MG, where he accumulated a lead of 56 seconds in just five laps.

Lister made its commercial reappearance in 1986. Based in Leatherhead, with engineering input by Laurence Pearce, approximately 90 tuned Jaguar Le Mans cars were produced, the emphasis being very much on super car performance.

With 546bhp, 583lb-ft of torque, a Motec management system, a weight of 3,668lb and a drag co-efficient of 0.35cd, the Lister Storm had a claimed top speed of almost 208MPH and 0-60mph in just 4.1 seconds, making the Storm a fitting contender for the Le Mans 24 hours. It was certainly proved as a supercar due to its performance and for a while the Lister Storm claimed the title of the fastest four-seater car in the world!

The Lister Storm LMP is a racing car built using knowledge gained with campaigning the Storm GT in various championships, and was built as an open-topped Le Mans Prototype.

The Lister Storm Hybrid was unveiled in 2005, making its debut in the Silverstone leg of the Le Mans Endurance Series and securing a podium finish at the 6h Vallelunga later that year, as well as in Istanbul in April 2006.

Lister’s success continued throughout the decade, with another British Empire Trophy triumph in 1957, once again led by Archie Scott-Brown, this time in his Lister Jaguar.

Lister tasted even more success in 1955, when they took home the prestigious British Empire Trophy at Oulton Park, with Archie Scott-Brown at the wheel of the Lister Bristol.

LISTER JAGUAR BHL101 COURTESY OF RM AUCTIONS/PATRICK ERNZEN © 2013