LISTER KNOBBLY CONTINUATION

L E AV I N G THE TRACK BEHIND Here comes the road-legal version of Lister’s racebred Knobbly continuation. Who needs a modern supercar? Words Richard Heseltine Photography Alex Tapley

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Left and below Gorgeous aluminium body takes 500 man-hours to craft; owner Brian Scowcroft (on left) commissioned Lister to make the first road-legal Knobbly.

‘IT’S GIDDYING STUFF, AS IS TO BE EXPECTED OF A ’50S SPORTS- RACER ON OPEN(ISH) EXHAUSTS’

marque revival, Lawrence Whittaker, even building the new Listers. It took several trips went as far as to persuade several company to the VOSA testing centre before they old boys to come out of decades-long approved a car. We had to adapt more than retirement to act as consultants during the 200 individual parts. construction of the initial batch of ten new ‘The major problem we had to overcome Knobblys, and to help train the next was the heat from the exhaust. The exhaust generation of car builders. The original plan gets very hot and this was unbearable for back in 2013 was simply to produce passengers. It was less of an issue when millimetre-perfect Listers with HTP papers racing, but obviously no good on the road. that could be used in Historic racing, subject Eventually, we ceramic-coated the exhaust he stark Cumbrian are dispatched with gusto. The horror-film to Highway Code adherence generally make concessions to IVA Type Approval, and to the discretion of event organisers. and put a lot of heat-resistant material in the landscape unspools fog of a few hours ago has made way for weak for a purgatorial driving experience in the doing so without deviations from the script ‘My father had bought an original Lister bodywork to deflect the heat, and in the in a blur, and winter sun and he’s revelling in one more real world: think ‘will it catch before it having an adverse effect on its looks or Knobbly to restore,’ Whittaker recalls. ‘While end it worked very well. However, a lot of conversation thus far opportunity to play with his new toy before catches fire’ start-up theatrics, Olympic- appeal. That’s quite a tightrope to walk, trying to find out more about the car and R&D and investment went into sorting has been conducted the roads are salted again. standard strop-throwing shenanigans in not least when your customers are, by order some parts, he contacted George Lister the problem.’ largely by means of It’s giddying stuff, but then that is to be traffic, and a spine-rattling ride quality. More definition, high-net-worth individuals with Engineering [Brian Lister’s grandfather’s Demand for the new Knobblys soon hand gestures. But expected of a ’50s sports-racer on open(ish) often than not, you soon pine for something correspondingly high expectations. company], which was still in existence. They outstripped supply. ‘We sold the first ten cars then it’s hard to be heard over the full- exhausts being exercised on challenging that bit more user-friendly. As such, you That would be individuals such as Brian invited us to their factory and we were within two months of release, which Tthroated howl of a Jaguar twin-cam six as it blacktop. Except this is nothing of the sort. approach this car with a degree of trepidation. Scowcroft, who commissioned the first overwhelmed to see that they had the surprised me a great deal. I am always reaches its sweet spot. The vast acreage of This Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobbly’ was completed It isn’t as though Lister doesn’t have form Lister Knobbly road car. The car collection of original chassis jigs, body bucks and other shocked at how well Lister is received bonnet rises and falls like cleavage, the point only recently. It is, in modern-day parlance, a when it comes to making road cars, mind, this sometime Formula Ford racer stretches parts just lying in storage. My father and I globally. People genuinely love the brand and of focus from the passenger seat being the ‘continuation car’, the important distinction but that was more in the realm of the from a V16 Cadillac to a Franay-bodied were immediately smitten and set about what it stands for. I am hoping for the same onslaught of fresh air that bypasses the being that it was ordered as a road car rather outrageous XJ-S conversions of the late Bentley via all manner of vowel-laden Italian acquiring the five different firms that now when we reignite our Jaguar Tuning Arm shallow wind-deflector and smacks you than as a track weapon. 1980s, and the uncompromisingly angular supercars. In this company, the Knobbly make up The Lister Motor Company Ltd, with the Lister Thunder [based on the F-type around the chops to the point that your face It blazes a trail for a new strain of street- Storm GT car that followed in the early ’90s. doesn’t appear out of place, that’s for sure. which was launched in September 2013.’ – see last issue]. Perhaps it was because we is frozen in a rictus grin. legal sports-racers from this resurgent This is something else entirely, a machine But, then, it was built using much of the Moving towards production was not started from such a low volume, but Lister Meanwhile, the helmsman displays not a Cambridgeshire marque, but therein lies the that aims to duplicate the wondrousness of original Brian Lister-era tooling, so that is to straightforward, however. ‘To be honest, was the fastest-growing UK car company in particle of doubt as speed rises and corners rub. Competition tools with a nod or two the original Knobbly while also making be expected. The architect behind the there were a lot of hurdles to overcome when 2017, which we were all very proud of.’

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It was Scowcroft who requested that his on your lap. That isn’t the case here. It’s damn car be street-legal, and this example has since near perfect to the point that you feel almost ‘IT’S NEAR- inspired a further run of ten purely for road as though you’re wearing the car. What’s use, with deliveries due to start in the more, the gauges are easy to read at a glance. PER FECT, summer. Resplendent in Rolls-Royce Black When describing Listers, it was once TO THE POINT Kirch (‘black cherry’) to match his Phantom, customary to mention that Brian Lister’s it looks much smaller than you might company made wrought ironwork and THAT YOU imagine. Save for the lack of wheel spinners cackhandedly imply that his racing cars were (denuded for reasons of pedestrian safety, unsophisticated when compared with more FEEL ALMOST apparently), and the addition of door exalted rivals, not least those from the mirrors, indicators, a sunken fuel-filler cap Continent. That wasn’t fair decades ago and AS THOUGH and twin roll-hoops, there’s little to tell it nothing has changed since. They beat those apart from a period-original Knobbly. All ‘foreign jobs’ hollow in the late 1950s after YOU’RE that’s missing are race roundels. And maybe all, albeit mostly at National level. The works one or two battle-scars. prototype, driven by the heroic Archie Scott WEARING It is a distinctive outline, too, with some Brown, swept all before it in 1957, winning fiendishly clever features that circumvented 11 races from 14 starts before the production THE CAR’ period Appendix K race regulations, and model arrived a year later. which led to the Knobbly moniker. These Beneath the skin, the new strain similarly rules mandated a minimum windscreen employs a robust tubular chassis plus double- height. To reduce frontal area while wishbone front suspension and a de Dion conforming with this clause, Brian Lister and rear end. Power comes from a 3.8-litre artist Cavendish Morton (whose resumé also straight-six using all-new remanufactured included several Tojeiro racers and the ill- parts around original Jaguar blocks, all starred Britannia) came up with a bodystyle assembled by Crosthwaite & Gardiner, a that was lower than the engine height company that knows a thing or two about demanded, with clearance over the cams and extracting improbable amounts of carburettors being provided by the large horsepower from the XK unit. This example ‘knobble’ on the bonnet. The scuttle sat low produces more than 330bhp – plenty, in a behind this prominent bulge, with the car weighing just shy of 800kg, to ensure regulation screen therefore being at super- excitement. Lister’s own performance figures low scuttle height. Genius. The rear deck was tout a 4.3sec 0-60mph sprint time, and a top level with the screen top, the overall effect speed in excess of 180mph. even now being almost cartoonish and all Not that there is any danger of us reaching the better for it. You would never mistake such velocities today, though that doesn’t a Knobbly for anything else. stop Scowcroft from trying. From my Lift up the scissor door and the cabin is position hunkered down in the passenger much as you remember of the ’50s original, seat, all the while ruing the decision to wear save for the slender leather seats and padded a flat cap, the Lister feels remarkably dashboard. The classic white-on-black composed. It helps that the pilot knows instruments look the part, and wanton the roads and knows what he’s doing, but luxury stretches to a low fuel-level warning still it comes as a shock that he isn’t having light (very Fiat 500 Nuova). The modern, to work much harder. flush-fitting switchgear, in contrast, appears Of course the Knobbly feels dramatic, a little out of place. Some old-style toggle though not in a harum-scarum sort of way. switches would have been infinitely more in If anything, the lack of much in the way of keeping but they would no doubt upset the protection from the elements only heightens IVA inspectors. the sense of rapidity. As Scowcroft puts it: Having stepped over the wide sill and ‘There are faster cars, but nonefeels faster threaded your way into position, the car’s than the Lister. You can do 550mph in a jet, race ancestry is palpable: the driving stance but there’s no sensation of speed.’ is semi-prone, while the pedals are closely After swapping seats, the sense of sainted coupled. It’s lightyears away from several lunacy is only heightened. Acceleration is comparable designs, however, in that you visceral, the surprise part being that the rear don’t need to be of tiny stature to fit tyres don’t struggle for grip despite the comfortably, and nothing is offset. asphalt being a mite greasy. There’s no Facing page top and bottom In many sports-racers from the 1950s, wheelspin, no snaking, no palaver. The rush Knobbly is tiny – look how little road-space it occupies; modern you feel perched; as though you’re sitting on of excitement and the absolute surrender as switchgear on dash doesn’t help the car rather than in it, but often with the speed builds and the engine note hardens are the period looks but is required lower portion of the steering wheel resting worth the price of admission alone. Pass to pass modern safety legislation.

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2017 Lister Knobbly Engine 3781cc straight-six, DOHC, triple Weber 45 DC03 carburettors Power 337bhp @ 6500rpm Torque 295lb ft @ 4250rpm Transmission Four-speed manual, rear-wheel drive Steering Rack and pinion Suspension Front: double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers. Rear: de Dion axle, twin trailing arms, coil springs over telescopic dampers Brakes Girling discs Weight 787kg Top speed 181mph 0-60mph 4.3sec

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‘THE SURROUND- SOUND FANFARE BLOWING YOUR MIND AND ASSAULTING YOUR EARS IS ADDICTIVE’

you wouldn’t expect it to be. It is, however, infinitely better than preconceptions would have you believe. It soaks up the worst of the bumps with aplomb, and doesn’t tramline. Nor do you need to slalom around potholes, as you’d be forced to in many modern-day supercars we could mention. You expect to feel every zit in the asphalt through your backside, but no, and there aren’t any percussive creaks or groans through the structure. Whittaker likens driving the car to playing with a well-sorted E-type, and he has a point. The Knobbly has its foibles, but not many. Anyone well-versed with old cars will have no problem acclimatising, and even those Above making the leap from ‘moderns’ won’t find Jaguar XK engine as built by it intimidating. Not really. On a circuit it Crosthwaite & Gardiner produces might be a different story, but its relative 330bhp – in a car that weighs 787kg. civility is unexpected. As for the nettlesome question of value for money, it’s all relative. This isn’t a car for touring because, well, there isn’t much room 4000rpm and the grumble becomes a bark, direct and precise with it. There’s no writhing for anything other than a toothbrush and a the surround-sound fanfare blowing your through the wheel, either. face flannel. But as something to get the mind and assaulting your ears. It’s utterly The competition clutch, however, takes heart pumping, it’s infinitely more addictive. The XK unit revs much harder some getting used to. It’s either in or out, and involving than most latter-day exotica we can than you might have imagined, too, although those on the shorter side will find themselves think of. At £225,000 for a new ‘road’ there’s plenty of torque low down. Given that pressing the last few centimetres of travel Knobbly (this example was closer to the car has covered all of 350 miles since using only their toes, as the car has been £330,000), the Lister is in no way cheap, but completion, there’s no venturing into the set-up for someone north of average height. it is exclusive, beautifully made, with the upper reaches of the rev range, and not least As such, it’s all too easy to whoops-a-daisy aluminium body alone accounting for 500 because it would equate to the sort of speed awkwardly off the line, especially in traffic. man-hours, and you’re unlikely to encounter that ends in a jail sentence. Even so, the Given that the Lister has the longest another at events. engine feels unburstable. bonnet in Christendom, and is naturally In addition to building ten pure roadgoing The gearchange, by way of contrast, equipped with race harnesses, it comes as no Knobblys, Lister will also make the same requires perseverance to master because surprise that pulling out of junctions safely number of editions and a batch there’s little movement across the gate. can be a chore. It rather goes with the of Chevrolet-engined versions. All in all, that Without familiarity, it’s all to easy to change territory. Tellingly, the car’s owner launches will mean there are fewer than 50 cars all from first to fourth. That said, you can just the Knobbly perfectly each time. told. That’s quite a select owners’ club. Had leave it in top and enjoy all that lovely torque. Then there’s the ride quality. This is the we the wherewithal, it’s one we would love The steering is also lighter than expected, but revelatory part. In no way is it soft, but then to be a member of. End

144 145 LISTER KNOBBLY LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC LAT THE SHAPE OF VICTORY Lister’s continuation car follows in illustrious tyretracks, says Richard Heseltine

DESPITE ITS legendary status, the Lister ‘Knobbly’ BARC Goodwood Easter Monday meeting, he led Above enjoyed only a brief spell as a frontline racer. The Stirling Moss in his DBR2 during the Archie Scott Brown in the Lister-Jaguar chases prototype swept all before it in 1957, with the brilliant Sussex Trophy race until a steering rack bracket failed. Stirling Moss (Aston Archie Scott Brown at the wheel. The production variant At the British Empire Trophy meeting, Martin DBR2) through arrived a year later and was offered with a raft of engine Scott Brown again starred until the steeringarm failed. the Chicane in the options. Customers had the choice of 3.0- or 3.8-litre At Aintree, he was challenged by in the 1958 Sussex Trophy twin-cam XK units, or 4.6- and 5.7-litre Chevrolet V8s. new Lister but came home the victor. at Goodwood. Early adopters included Ecurie Ecosse, Pierre Strasse’s Gregory didn’t take defeat lying down, however, the Equipe National Belge, and Briggs Cunningham. The ‘Kansas City Flash’ emerging on top after a titanic scrap latter became the marque’s US concessionaire, with the with Scott Brown next time out at Silverstone. The works likes of , Tom Carstens and Kjell Qvale driver then won at Mallory Park. also doing much to raise Lister’s profile Stateside. It would be his final victory: the disabled race ace Cunningham fielded two 3.0-litre cars in the 1958 perished at Spa-Francorchamps in May ’58. Scott Brown Sebring 12 Hours. The Scott Brown/Walt Hansgen entry and Gregory had battled furiously in variable conditions, had managed a mere three laps when it was assaulted the former going off-line on the Clubhouse curve behind by ’s Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, after the pits – where Dick Seaman had died in 1939. He slowing suddenly. The sister entry of Ed Crawford and clouted a roadsign, which snapped the Lister’s right-hand Pat O’Connor made it to lap six before dropping out track rod. The car then somersaulted before coming to a with a holed piston. stop with fuel gushing from the fuel tank. The magnesium Hansgen, a man who had enjoyed success aboard body went up like a Roman candle and Scott Brown died Cunningham’s Jaguar D-type, said after the race: ‘The from his injuries the following afternoon. Lister goes through the “S” turns and over bumpy parts of His death had a profound effect on his friend and the circuit far better than the D-type. I believe this is due patron Brian Lister, whose immediate impulse was to to several factors. The rear unsprung weight is very much retire from racing. Nevertheless, works cars continued to lower, and the weight distribution is better for braking.’ be fielded to the end of ’58 for Moss, Hansgen, Ross The future Grand Prix occasional would dominate his Jensen and Ivor Bueb. The swoopy, Costin-bodied variant class in SCCA events to the end of the season. emerged during the winter of 1958-59, but Knobblies Closer to home, Scott Brown steered the latest works continued to appear well into the ’60s before finding a car to a brace of wins at Snetterton in March ’58. At the home in Historics. In fact, they’ve never really gone away.

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