1958 Lister Jaguar

This is a photograph that I took at Lodge Corner during the Guards Trophy GTSR Race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2008.

It's Bob Gilbert in his 1958 Lister Jaguar which has the 6-cylinder inline 3,781cc Jaguar XK6 engine. The car was actually built with genuine Lister Jaguar parts in the early 1990s for the Yoshiyuki Hayashi Collection.

Silverstone 1998 - 1950’s Sports Car Race

This is a photograph that I took at Luffield corner during the 1950’s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1988.

The car disappearing on the left hand side is Peter Hardman's 1957 Aston Martin DBR1 and following that is Nick Linney's green & yellow Lister Jaguar Knobbly, hidden behind which is Alan Minshaw's 1959 Maserati T61. Number 10 is Martin Stretton in Peter Scott’s 1955 Maserati 300S and behind that is Rob Walton’s White & Blue Maserati T61. The silver car following this group is Don Shead’s Kurtis 500S. In the background, from left to right, are Tony Smith's Aston Martin DB3S, Ron Gammon's Lotus Eleven, David Heynes' Lister Jaguar and Adrian Hall's Lotus MkX Bristol.

1958 Lister Jaguar

This car competed in the Historic Car Championship Race at the Aston Martin Owners Club's Autumn Historic Car Races meeting at Oulton Park in September 1992 and I took the photograph during a practice session.

 It's the 1958 Lister Jaguar of the late Steve O'Rourke, former manager of the Pink Floyd rock band. The car has the 3,781cc version of the 6-cylinder inline Jaguar XK6 engine. Originally a works car, chassis BHL2, it was sold at the end of 1959 and eventually ended up with Mike Wright who competed with the car but wrote it off in a road accident. The remains in time came to John Pearson who used the parts to construct a replica which was sold to Steve O'Rourke in 1989.

1959 Lister Jaguar

I took this photograph at Lodge Corner during the HSCC Pre ’60 Historic Sports Car Championship race at the HSCC Spring Historic Race Meeting at Oulton Park in May 1987.

It's a 3.8 litre Lister Jaguar driven by Aidan Mills-Thomas and has the 'knobbly' body which featured on the early Lister Jaguars. The car was apparently severely damaged at one point, to the extent that it's registration number (WTM 446) and chassis number (BHL126) were transferred to another Lister Jaguar. This change of identity was subsequently disputed, and the result was an extremely expensive court case in which the judge finally decided that it was not his place to decide such a matter.

1959 Lister Jaguar

Andrew Garner drove this car in the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1999.

It's a 1959 Lister Jaguar with the white bodywork and blue stripes of the American Briggs Cunningham team and is probably the second of these Costin bodied cars to be made, chassis BHL123, which went to Briggs Cunningham. Gary Pearson at one point restored the former Briggs Cunningham car, and this car at Silverstone has the same 6-cylinder inline 3,781cc Jaguar XK engine that was fitted to BHL123. The 1959 car was designed by Frank Costin to accommodate a Chevrolet Corvette engine, which most of them did, although a few of the cars used the same Jaguar engine as the earlier Lister 'Knobbly' cars. The red car next to the Lister is Andrew Garner's 2½ litre Cooper T51 which competed in the Maserati UK Race for Pre-1966 Grand Prix and Tasman Cars, The number 69 car appears to be a Jaguar C-Type, but isn't listed in the programme of the event.

1957 Lister Jaguar

I took this photograph in the paddock at Oulton Park at the 1957 British Empire Trophy meeting.

It's Archie Scott Brown's 1957 Lister Jaguar, the first Jaguar engined Lister, which was built before the FIA's Appendix C regulations required it to have headlights. Unlike the previous years' meetings which were run in 3 heats according to engine size with a handicap final the 1957 event just had three races based on engine size with the winner of the Trophy being the car that won its race in the shortest time. The 'Up to 1,200cc' race was won by Graham Hill in a Lotus Eleven while the '1,200cc to 2,000cc' race was won by Ron Flockhart, also in a Lotus Eleven but with a larger engine. The 'Over 2,000cc' race was won by Archie Scott Brown in this car and (naturally) he did it in the quickest time to win the Trophy. I came across a quote saying that drivers who raced against him were unanimous in saying that “… Archie spends less time travelling with all wheels pointing straight ahead than any other driver”.

Lotus 23B & Lister Jaguar

I took this photograph during qualifying for the Gentlemen Drivers Sports Racing Challenge race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2005.

Leading in the 1962 Lotus 23B is Mike Doyle, closely followed by Crispin Harris in his 1958 Lister Jaguar. The Lotus 23 was introduced in 1962 to compete in the smaller classes of sports car  racing and was used with engines with capacities ranging from from 750cc up to 1600cc. The programme of the event shows this car as having a 1,598cc engine, presumably the Ford Kent derived 4-cylinder inline Cosworth unit. It proved to be an extremely successful car and about 130 examples of the Lotus 23, 23B and 23C were produced between 1962 and 1963. The Lister Jaguar has the 3,781cc version of the Jaguar XK6 engine. 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.

1958 Lister Jaguar

I took this photograph in the paddock at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's a 1958 Lister Jaguar with no race number and didn't take part in the HGPCA Sports Car Race at this meeting - in fact there are no Lister Jaguars listed in the race at this meeting. I have photos of the car I took at Oulton Park in 1987 where it was entered by Aidan Mills-Thomas and is shown in the programme of that event as a Lister Jaguar with a 3,781cc engine. WTM446 has a chequered history. The car was apparently severely damaged at one point, to the extent that it's registration number (WTM 446) and chassis number (BHL126) were transferred to another Lister Jaguar. This change of identity was subsequently disputed, and the result was an extremely expensive court case in which the judge finally decided that it was not his place to decide such a matter. The court case is referred to in this description of the other car involved, a 1963 Lister Jaguar GT Prototype. The DVLA record currently shows no result for WTM446.

1958 Lister Jaguar

I took this photograph on the exit of Lodge Corner during the Guards Trophy GTSR Race at the Gold Cup meeting at Oulton Park in August 2008.

It's Phil Bennett in his 1958 Lister Knobbly which has the 3,781cc version of the Jaguar XK6 engine. 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.

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.

1959 Lister Jaguar

John Fitzpatrick drove this car in the Classic Car Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1994.

It's a 1959 Lister Jaguar and is bearing the white bodywork with blue stripes that adorned the second of these Costin bodied cars to be made, chassis BHL123, which went to the American Briggs Cunningham's racing team. Gary Pearson at one point restored the former Briggs Cunningham car, and this car at Silverstone has the same 6-cylinder inline 3,781cc Jaguar XK engine that was fitted to BHL123. The 1959 car was designed by Frank Costin to accommodate a Chevrolet Corvette engine, which most of them did, although a few of the cars used the same Jaguar engine as the earlier Lister 'Knobbly' cars.

1959 Lister Jaguar Knobbly

I took this photograph of two cars leaving the paddock for the qualifying session for the Louis Vuitton '50s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

Number 33 is the 1959 Lister Jaguar Knobbly of renowned Mexican collector Eduardo Baptista, though listed in the programme of the event as his 1955 Aston Martin DB3S. The following car is the 1955 Aston Martin DB3S of David Bennett.

1959 Lister Jaguar

Gary Pearson drove this car in the Louis Vuitton '50s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

It's a 1959 Lister Jaguar and is bearing the white bodywork with blue stripes that adorned the second of these Costin bodied cars to be made, chassis BHL123, which went to the American Briggs Cunningham's racing team. Gary Pearson at one point restored the former Briggs Cunningham car, and his car at Silverstone has the same 6-cylinder inline 3,781cc Jaguar XK engine that was fitted to BHL123. The 1959 car was designed by Frank Costin to accommodate a Chevrolet Corvette engine, which most of them did, although a few of the cars used the same Jaguar engine as the earlier Lister 'Knobbly' cars.

1958 Lister Jaguar

This car took part in the Louis Vuitton '50s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1995.

It's David Ham's 1958 Lister Jaguar with the 3,781cc 6-cylinder inline XK engine. This car has been owned and raced by the Ham family, David and Simon, since 1969. Originally owned by Scottish businessman Sir Alexander Miller, it was sold first to hill climb specialist Phil Scragg who installed a Chevrolet engine in place of  the original Jaguar unit, then by George Tatham, before ending up with David Ham who restored the car and put back the original Jaguar engine.

1958 Lister Jaguar

I took this photograph at Britten's chicane during the 50's Sports Car Race at the Vintage Sports Car Club's Boulogne and Hawthorn Trophies Race Meeting at Oulton Park in June 2006.

Leading is Stephen Gibson in his 1958 Lister Jaguar with Rupert Whyte in his 1958 Lotus Eleven behind him. Next is Barry Cannell in his 1956/57 Willment Climax followed by what may be Tim Llewellyn's 1956 Tojeiro Jaguar, and bringing up the rear is the 1955 Cooper T39 Bobtail of Adrian van der Kroft.

1958 Lister Jaguar

This was one of the competitors in the 1950s Sports Car Race at the Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1998.

It's the 1958 Lister Jaguar of the late Steve O'Rourke, former manager of the Pink Floyd rock band. The car has the 3,781cc version of the 6-cylinder inline Jaguar XK6 engine. Originally a works car, chassis BHL2, it was sold at the end of 1959 and eventually ended up with Mike Wright who competed with the car but wrote it off in a road accident. The remains in time came to John Pearson who used the parts to construct a replica which was sold to Steve O'Rourke in 1989.

On 24 November 2016 I showed several photographs of the car that I had taken at Oulton Park in 1992.

Lister Jaguar

This car competed in the JDC Modified Jaguar Challenge and JDC Lister Challenge race at the Jaguar Drivers' Club's Cheshire Cats Trophy meeting at Oulton Park in April 1987.

It's shown in the programme of the event as a 3,781cc Lister Jaguar driven by Aidan Mills-Thomas and has the 'knobbly' body which featured on the 1958 cars.

The car was apparently severely damaged at one point, to the extent that it's registration number (WTM 446) and chassis number (BHL126) were transferred to another Lister Jaguar.

This change of identity was subsequently disputed, and the result was an extremely expensive court case in which the judge finally decided that it was not his place to decide such a matter. The court case is referred to in this description of the other car involved, a 1963 Lister Jaguar GT Prototype.

The photograph below is one that I took of the 1963 Lister Jaguar GT Prototype at Silverstone in 1998.

Crowded Pit Lane

I took this photograph at the Vintage Sports Car Club's SeeRed meeting at Donington Park in May 2008.

It's a line of cars in the pit lane waiting for a practice session for the BRDC Historic Sports Car race to begin. Number 78 is the 1955 Jaguar D-Type of Benjamin Eastick and is chassis XKD 133, not a genuine 1955 car but apparently constructed in the 1970s using genuine Jaguar D-Type parts. I showed photographs of  this car on 11 July 2017. The car in front of the D-Type is Barry Wood's 1959 3.8 litre Jaguar-engined Lister Knobbly, and is chassis BHL 117, a car I featured on 31 October 2017. In front of that is the Cooper T39 Bobtail of John Clark who shared the driving in the one hour long race with (I think) Emma-Jane Gilbart-Smith, and I showed a photograph of this car on 13 March 2018.

Lister Jaguar

In October 1965 a group of American drag racers came to Britain on an exhibition tour organised by the National Hot Rod Association in conjunction with the British Drag Racing Association, repeating their visit of the previous year,  and one of the events was held on the runway of RAF Woodvale near Southport. Here's one of the photographs I took there that day.

I don't recall having a programme at this meeting so I don't know who entered the car for this event, but this is a 1958 Lister Jaguar, chassis BHL 105, that was originally an Equipe Nationale Belge car and took part, with a 3-litre engine, in the 1958 Le Mans 24 Hour race driven by Freddy Rouselle and Claude Dubois. The car retired early in that race after losing oil pressure, then continued to be raced by the Belgian team until it crashed during practice for the Helsinki Grand Prix in 1959. It went back to the Lister factory but was repaired elsewhere and passed through various owners until it went to Switzerland in 1986, but is now back in this country and has undergone an extensive restoration.

Lister Jaguar

This car was amongst the many static display vehicles at the Christie's International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1992.

It's a 1958 Lister Jaguar that has been owned and raced by the Ham family, David and Simon, since 1969. Originally owned by Scottish businessman Sir Alexander Miller, it was sold first to hill climb specialist Phil Scragg who installed a Chevrolet engine in place of  the original Jaguar unit, then by George Tatham, before ending up with David Ham who restored the car and put back the original Jaguar engine. There's a more extensive history of the car on this article on the Chateau Impney website prior to their Hill Climb in May 2016.