Lister has been around more or less continuously since Brian Lister founded it in 1954, but the current Lister Motor Company has only been run by the Whittaker family since 2013. While hand-hammering Knobbly continuations is one way of keeping the business alive, more recently, Lister also started to tune Jaguar’s latest models to levels that the company’s Special Vehicle Operations wouldn’t tackle. Because, even though an F-Type SVR is a beast, at 666-hp, the carbon-bodied Lister LFT-C can still surprise you by packing the number of the beast.
At this point, it’s difficult to know what to expect from Britain’s boutique sports car builder. Following fellow Ginetta’s lead with its Akula, Lister’s intention is to make that final step towards manufacturing its own designs. Yet with a “new Knobbly” announcement last March, an “EV Storm” teaser this February, and now a new set of illustrations showing a potential addition to the range, there is excitement brewing.
Digital mirrors, vents above an engine pushed well behind the front axle, doors that cut into the roof, like a Ford GT40, an active rear wing, dual quick fillers, and a bloke with a helmet? If this is how Lister intends to combine Jaguar’s supercharged V8 with styling cues from the stillborn C-X75 concept, past race cars, and various Aston Martins, we’re looking forward to seeing more from the company.
Though Lister CEO Lawrence Whittaker won’t share more detail about this project, the company’s Twitter account would like you to know that “a Storm is coming”.
Lister last produced a Storm road car in 1994. Just four road-going versions were sold, but with good reason: while the Storm’s unapologetic 7.0-liter Jaguar V-12 made it the fastest front-engined four-seater in the world, it also made it more expensive than what most were willing to pay for a front-engined four-seater.
The Storm GTS debuted at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans, classified in GT1 alongside McLaren F1 GTRs, Ferrari F40 LMs, Porsche 911 GT2s, and even Jaguar’s XJ220. Unfortunately, whether it was a twin-turbo V-6 or a naturally-aspirated V-12, a Jaguar-powered sports car failed finish the race that year. McLaren took the win at its first attempt.
