1955 Lister Bristol

In the early 1950s, racing driver Brian Lister began building a series of sports cars that were inspired by the Cooper marque. Lister was the son of a wealthy industrialist and had the expertise, financial backing, and experience to build a successful vehicle. His early creations were a Cooper chassis with MG power followed by a Tojeiro chassis powered by an air-cooled J.A.P. motorcycle engine.

With the help of Archie Scott Brown, the business began to grow. Scott Brown focused on racing, while Lister focused on building cars and building the company. The early creation featured a ladder frame with double wishbones in the front and a DeDion axle in the rear. Power was from an MG power-plant with the bodywork featuring a design created by Brian Lister. The Lister MG made its debut in 1953 but was not as competitive as the cars from Lotus. With further modifications and tuning by Don Moore, the car was made more competitive. The MG engine was later replaced by a more powerful Bristol two-liter straight six. The car would continue to evolve, as would the team, as they were met with various obstacles. Scott Brown's license was withdrawn just prior to the start of the British Empire Trophy, stating the action was due to his disability. After several weeks of protest, his license was reinstated. This would not be the final issue, as he was later refused an international license.

The company built a few Lister-Bristols in 1955 with a new body built by an ex-Bristol employee with the help of a wind tunnel. Though it wore a more modern body, it was less successful than the original Lister-Bristol. The company later experimented with a six-cylinder engine from a Formula 2 Maserati A6GCS and for 1957, the car was designed around a Jaguar D-Type inline-six.

Lister cars continued to earn victories on several continents, but more work was needed to fix the lack of top speed. Aerodynamic expert, Frank Costin, was commissioned to design a new body. The new design made its debut late in 1958 and fitted to all production Listers for 1959. Along with the new body, Costin also helped Lister design a new space-frame chassis. Financial difficulties meant the company was forced to close near the end of 1959, prior to the new car being marketed.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2014