1959 Lister Special Roadster

The front-engined Lister Costin sport racers competed in international and SCCA competition from the mid-1950s into the early 1960s. During the era, one of the most respected and successful independent manufacturers was Lister of Cambridge, England. The car was commonly known in 1958 as the Lister Knobbly.

For the 1959 season, Brian Lister hired noted aeronautical engineer and aerodynamicist Frank Costin to redesign the Knobbly. His credentials included work for de Havilland Aircraft Company, as well as designing the bodywork for the Lotus Mark VIII, Lotus Eleven, and the Vanwall VW5 - the winner of the very first F1 Constructor's championship. Drawing on his expertise, he came up with the design for the Lister Costin. In total, thirteen Lister Costins were built; one Chevrolet V8-powered prototype and twelve production versions; three with Jaguar power, eight with Chevrolet V8 engines, and one with a Maserati V8.

This car, chassis number BHL 121, is one of the prototypes and the very first Lister Costin. It was given a Chevrolet V8 engine and clothed in Costin's new, smoother body. The car was delivered to its first owner, gentleman racer John Ewer, in early 1959. Ewer would go on to successfully race BHL 121 at Snetterton, Goodwood, and Silverstone over the next year.

In August 1960, Ewer sold the car to Jimmy de Villiers of Southern Rhodesia. Villiers would export HL 121 to Africa to participate in the 1st Rhodesian Grand Prix. For the next event, the car was driven by Rhodesian driver John Love at the wheel, and is believed to have won a South African Championship for him. The car then was sold to additional South African owners, including Eric Glasby in September of 1964 and then Jack Clough in September of 1965. Clough would race in the region for the next few years with moderate success. In 1966, the car was feeling its age - along with a small fire - ended the national competitiveness of BHL 121. The car would continue to race on regional hillclimbs for the next few years.

Cedric Selzer, a former Team Lotus F1 mechanic turned restorer, purchased the car in 1986, and returned it to the United Kingdom. A short time later, the car was purchased by veteran club driver David Beckett and engaged in a complete restoration that was completed in 1987. Beckett would go on to race the car at historic events throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, with Beckett winning the HSCC and AMOC Championships in 1988 and 1991.

In the early 1990s, the car was sold to David Clarke of Taylor and Crawley, who subsequently traded the car to a new owner who hired sports car drivers Tony Dron and Soames Longton to pilot the car at historic events. It would eventually be sold at the Brooks Auction at the 1995 Goodwood Festival of Speed for $184,000. The winner of the car was Vintage Racing Motors from the United States. The car was exported to the US where it would join their historic race car collection in Seattle.

In 1999, the car was owned by Pat Hart, who handed it over to New Zealander, Tony Garmey of Horizon Racing and Performance in Maple Valley, Washington, for a complete restoration and race preparation. Garmey completed the restoration and went on to take 2nd in class at the Monterey Historics later that year. He would continue to develop and race the car for the next decade both on the West Coast and in New Zealand. He returned it to the Monterey Historics in 2001 to sit on pole and win his class.

The car is currently fitted with period Hilborn fuel injection with a wet sump Chevrolet V8 engine displacing 358 cubic inches and offering 466 horsepower. There is a T-10 4-speed dog-leg transmission.

By Daniel Vaughan | Apr 2014