More than 60 years after the original Lister Knobbly first raced, a dedicated road-going version of the legendary sports car has been unveiled.
Described as one of the most successful cars in motor racing history, the continuation Lister can now be driven legally on the public highway. Eligible for IVA type approval and therefore fully-legal for registration and road use, unlike some replica or retro sports cars, the Lister Knobbly is not a classic shape on top of modern mechanicals. Beneath its hand-beaten aluminium body is a six-cylinder Jaguar 3.8-litre engine and four-speed gearbox, which is almost identical to the D-Type powerplants fitted in the 1950s.
Engines are built using all-new, remanufactured parts around original Jaguar blocks, assembled by experts from Crosthwaite & Gardiner. Despite the ‘old school’ technology the engine is still capable of 330bhp – enough to power the 787kg Knobbly to 181mph and accelerate from 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds
The tubular chassis is made from seamless engineering tube using the original jigs, and all welds are pressure tested to ensure integrity. The aluminium body panels alone take around 500 hours to beat into the Knobbly’s distinctive shape.
Commenting on the introduction of the new road legal Lister Knobbly, Lawrence Whittaker, CEO Lister Motor Company, said: “I am really proud and excited that the Lister Motor Company has succeeded by being the first, and to date the only, specialist sports car maker to engineer and launch a fully road legal version of a racing continuation model.
“This is a hugely important step for us, making Lister the first to be able to offer our enthusiastic clients the excitement and thrills of driving a historically significant race car on the road. Our new road legal Knobbly also paves the way for more future road-going Lister models too.”
The most notable changes to the road-ready Knobbly have been integrated into the original design by Lister’s engineers and include a collapsible steering column, roll over protection, indicators with side repeater flashers, rear fog lamp, number plates front, rear a padded leather dashboard. The removal of wheel spinners for pedestrian safety, as well as the removal of windscreen which is replaced by a wind deflector, is joined by the addition of rear view mirrors, a sunken fuel filler cap and brake fluid and low fuel level warning lights.
Just 10 of the new hand-built road-going Lister Knobbly continuation models will be produced. First customer deliveries are planned for June 2018. A Knobbly fitted with a 4.2-litre 6-Cylinder engine will be priced at £225,000 on-the-road, while a 3.8-litre with Dry Sump will be priced at £295,000 OTR.