1959 Lister Knobbly

This is a photograph I took at Britten's chicane during the Hawthorn International Trophy race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's meeting at Oulton Park in June 2008.

It's Barry Wood in his 1959 Lister Knobbly leading Tom Walker in his 1952 Allard J2X Le Mans. Brian Lister started producing sports cars in 1954 first with an MG engine and later with a Bristol engine, but he had the most success with the 1957 car which used the Jaguar D-type engine. The first version of this car was known at the time as a Lister-Jaguar, but after the 1959 car was given a smoother aerodynamic body designed by Frank Costin (and designed to use the Chevrolet Corvette powerplant) the more bulbous earlier car became known as the Lister Knobbly. Barry Wood's car has the 3,781cc version of the Jaguar XK6 engine and is chassis BHL117. The Allard J2X Le Mans was developed from the Allard J2 which had motor cycle style mudguards and the J2X was introduced to comply with 1952 FIA regulations which said that cars must have all-enveloping bodywork. Tom Walker's car has a 5,425cc Cadillac V8 engine.