1959 Lister Special Roadster

In 1957, the Jaguar Works factory had a disastrous fire that brought all car production, including Jaguar's race cars, to a total halt. This brought Jaguar's formidably successful D-Types to a close, leaving a gap to be filled in that market.

Mr. Brian Lister stepped forward to fill this void. His family engineering firm, George Lister & Sons, built a range of high-quality metalwork reaching back to the Victorian era. Mr. Lister's history with race car designs and fabrication dated back to the late 1940s, with his Cooper-MG sports specials. By the time of the Jaguar fire, his list of racing specials included a car for John Tojeiro, and many others that carried his own Lister badge using Bristol, Rover, or MG power - in one case, a Maserati engine.

In 1957, Lister produced his first Jaguar-powered sports racer. In the capable hands of driver Archie Scott-Brown, the car achieved many outstanding race victories. Lister's sponsor, British Petroleum, was searching for a team of large-displacement sports racing cars to rival Aston Martin and Ecurie Ecosse Jaguars, both of whom were sponsored by Esso. British Petroleum found a formidable opponent with Lister and soon the first production 'Knobbly' Lister Jaguars, so named for its unusual but effective body shape and aerodynamics, debuted in 1958. Briggs Cunningham purchased the first two cars, which served as compliments, and later replacements, for his older Jaguar D-Type team cars.

In early 1959, Lister began a restyling of the Knobbly bodywork. Aeronautical engineer Frank Costin was tasked with the advanced bodywork. Frank Costin was the brother of Mike Costin, the co-founder of the firm Cosworth. Together with designer and engineer Jim Marsh, Frank Costin co-founded Marcos Sports Cars. While there, he applied his knowledge of building monocoque chassis from plywood, a skill that he learned from his aircraft work. He later built the Costin Amigo and the TMC Costin in the mid-1980s as well as the Costin Sports Racers in the early 1990s.

The updated Costins were sleeker and less aerodynamic than the Knobbly. In total, there were nine Cosin Listers constructed. Just two were powered by Jaguar and the other seven were given V-8 engines from Chevrolet. The Chevrolet engines were installed by the legendary Texans Jim Hall and Carroll Shelby, Lister's first US importers.

This car, chassis number BHL 123, was originally purchased by Briggs Cunningham and prepared by legendary Cunningham team chief mechanic Alfred Momo. The car's first competition outing was the inaugural 12 Hours of Sebring race in 1959. The list of drivers includes Jaguar LeMans veterans Ivor Bueb and Stirling Moss. American racer Russell Boss was listed as a reserve driver.

At the 1959 12 Hours of Sebring, Stirling Moss was driving in third place when he made a scheduled pit stop. Impatient to rejoin the race, Moss left before the tank was full. Subsequently, he ran dry on the course. Walt Hansgen, a Cunningham teammate, tried pushing the car with his Knobbly Lister but the aluminum bodywork was not strong enough for the task. Moss then got out of the car and hitched a ride to the pits for more fuel on a race marshal's motorcycle. He was later disqualified for using outside help.

The next race, Hansgen drove the race car to four first-place finishes at the following venues: Virginia International Raceway, the Cumberland International Races in Maryland, Bridgehampton Race Circuit and Watkins Glen. Virginia International Raceway, the Cumberland International Races in Maryland, Bridgehampton Race Circuit and Watkins Glen.

In 1961, the car was purchased by US dealer/racer Bob Grossman. The car was later sold to Phil Forno, who raced it with co-drivers Ed Crawford and Dr. Dick Thompson. By 1976, the car had returned to England, where it was campaigned by Tony Crossingham. In 1978, the car was purchased by William Symons who kept it until 1983, when it was sold to Chris Drake. That same year, the car returned to America and into the care of Dean G. Watts. While in his care, the car was given a more rugged alloy suspension uprights and a roll bar.

The car returned back to England in 1989. A year later, it was owned by vintage dealer Dan Marguiles, who registered the car with the FIA Historic Vehicle Identity program. It passed through the hands of a few UK collectors until it once again returned to America, where the present owner purchased it in 2000. The new owner gave the car a full mechanical restoration. In 2003, it was given a comprehensive, body-off restoration. Recently, it has been given a comprehensive cosmetic and mechanical restoration.

During its nine full-vintage race seasons, comprising of approximately 70 race weekends with the current owner, the car had many successful finishes and just two DNFs. The list of racing venues where this car has participated includes Circuit Mont Tremblant, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Road Atlanta, Portland International Raceway, the Wine Country Classic Historic Car Races, Lime Rock Park, Watkins Glen, and even at the banked oval of Daytona where it won the Lister Reunion race in 2001.

In 2009, the car won the SVRA Group 4 Enduro Championship. In 2006 it won the Group 4 Sprint Races Championship. Concours honors have included multiple class wins at the Road & Track Race Car Concours at Elkhart Lake and the Cunningham Tribute at The Quail in 2007.

In 2010, this car was offered for sale at Gooding & Company's Scottsdale Auction in Arizona. The lot was sold for the sum of $1,100,000, inclusive of the buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2010