The History of Lister Motor Company

The Perpetual Underdog: The Long, Fast, and Fraught History of Lister Motor Company

In the pantheon of British automotive history, certain names roll off the tongue with practiced ease: Jaguar, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls-Royce. They are the titans, the established legends taught in history books and displayed in hallowed museums. But nestled in the shadow of these giants exists a name that, to the uninitiated, might seem like a footnote. Yet for those who know, the name Lister evokes a very different reaction: it conjures images of aggressive, handcrafted sports cars, the deafening shriek of a Coventry Climax engine at full chat, and a legacy of persistence that borders on obsession. This is the story of the Lister Motor Company, a small British firm that built some of the most beautiful and fearsome cars ever to grace a track, and a company whose history is a testament to the tenacity of its creators.

The Genesis of a Legend: Laurence “Larry” Pomeroy (1954)

The Lister story begins not with a corporate boardroom, but in the workshop of a brilliant, self-taught engineer named Laurence “Larry” Pomeroy. Born in 1925, Pomeroy was an automotive prodigy. By his early twenties, he was already a renowned technical journalist, contributing to publications like Autosport and The Motor. He wasn’t just an observer; he was a hands-on engineer who possessed a deep, intuitive understanding of aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics. In 1954, at the tender age of 29, Pomeroy decided to build his own car.

His vision was for a “Monte Carlo” style sports car, a lightweight, agile machine capable of competing in grueling endurance rallies. The result of his efforts was the first Lister, a car that would later be known as the “Lister-Pomeroy.” It was a raw, minimalist machine. The chassis was a simple, robust ladder frame, and the body was crafted from hand-beaten aluminum, its shape dictated more by function than by the sweeping elegance of its contemporaries. Its most distinctive feature was its lack of doors; the low-slung windscreen and side screens were the only barriers between the driver and the elements, making entry and exit an athletic affair.

Under the hood, Pomeroy fitted a 1.5-liter XK-derived engine from Jaguar. The car was baptized in competition almost immediately, making its debut at the 1954 Goodwood Easter Monday meeting. Driven by the legendary Stirling Moss, it proved its potential. Over the next couple of years, Lister cars, often powered by the brilliant 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine from the Bristol, achieved considerable success in national racing and rallying. However, the endeavor was a financially precarious one. Pomeroy was a brilliant engineer but not a businessman. The cars were built on a shoestring budget, and by 1956, the company was facing insurmountable financial difficulties. Unable to sustain the operation, Laurence Pomeroy made the difficult decision to sell the rights to the Lister name and chassis design.

A New Engine and a New Name: The Birth of Lister-Jaguar (1957-1959)

The future of Lister seemed uncertain until it was acquired by two brothers, Geoffrey and Brian Lister. It was a synergistic acquisition; Geoffrey was a successful businessman with a passion for motorsports, while Brian was a highly skilled engineer who, like Pomeroy, was a master of aluminum and chassis design. The Listers saw immense potential in Pomeroy’s design but recognized that to compete at the highest levels, it needed more power.

Their solution was a masterstroke. They contacted Jaguar, who were at the time producing their legendary D-type sports racers. The Listers proposed a simple deal: they would buy brand-new, race-winning 3.4-liter XK engines directly from Jaguar and install them in their own chassis. This collaboration was so successful that the cars were officially rebranded as the “Lister-Jaguar.” The change had a dramatic effect. The brutish power of the Jaguar engine, mated to the lightweight Lister chassis, created a monster. The car, now famously known as the “Lister-Jaguar ‘Knobbly'” for its curvaceous and muscular bodywork, quickly became a dominant force in sports car racing. With drivers like Stirling Moss, Peter Walker, and Ivor Bueb at the wheel, the Lister-Jaguar took on and often bested the factory Jaguar D-types and Ferrari 250 TRs.

The “Knobbly” is arguably the most iconic Lister and is considered one of the most beautiful racing cars of its era. Its distinctive, sculpted body, with its prominent fender curves and large cooling vents, was a work of functional art. The Listers’ manufacturing process was a model of small-scale British craftsmanship. The cars were built in a small workshop in Cambridge, with body panels hammered out by master craftsmen, including the famous Frank Hall. Each car was essentially a bespoke creation, a stark contrast to the more industrial processes of larger manufacturers.

Racing Glory and the First Road Car: The Lister-Jaguar “Street” (1958-1959)

The Lister-Jaguar’s racing success was meteoric. In 1958, Stirling Moss piloted a Lister-Jaguar to victory in the 2.5-liter class at the 12 Hours of Sebring, finishing an incredible second place overall against the more powerful 3.5-liter factory entries. That same year, the car won the prestigious Guards Trophy at Silverstone. The Listers had proven that a small, independent team could take on and beat the world’s most prestigious marques.

Capitalizing on this success, the Listers decided to homologate the car for GT racing. To meet the regulations, they had to produce a small number of road-legal versions. This led to the creation of the first official Lister production car: the Lister-Jaguar “Street” car in 1958. It was a raw, uncompromising machine, barely changed from its race-bred sibling. It retained the low-slung doors (or lack thereof), a rudimentary interior, and the thundering XK engine. It was a car for the serious enthusiast, a true “wolf in sheep’s clothing” that could terrorize lesser machinery on both the road and the track. Very few were ever built, making them exceptionally rare and sought-after today.

The Turbulent Sixties: Economic Hardship and American Dreams (1960-1965)

Despite its racing triumphs, the Lister Motor Company was once again facing severe financial hardship by the dawn of the 1960s. The niche nature of their products and the high cost of production made profitability a constant struggle. In 1960, the company was forced into bankruptcy.

This could have been the end of the story, but the Listers were not ready to give up. They reformed the company, but the economic climate was unforgiving. To survive, they made a pragmatic, if somewhat painful, decision: to turn to the American market for salvation. They recognized that the US had a burgeoning sports car scene, particularly in the form of SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) racing. American buyers were less concerned with delicate European elegance and more interested in raw power and straight-line speed.

The Listers found a powerful ally in the form of renowned American engine builder Briggs Swift Cunningham. Cunningham, a legendary figure in American motorsports, had successfully homologated his own “Penske” special for Can-Am racing by building a handful of road cars. The Listers decided to follow a similar strategy. They envisioned a new car, designed specifically for the American market, that would be powered not by a Jaguar engine, but by a big, torquey American V8.

The Giant-Killer: The Chevrolet-Powered “Lister Corvette” (1960-1963)

The resulting car was the Lister-Chevrolet, later famously nicknamed the “Lister Corvette.” This was the ultimate expression of the Lister philosophy: take a brilliant British chassis and stuff it with American muscle. Using a modified Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray 327 cubic-inch V8 engine, the car was an absolute monster. It produced well over 400 horsepower, a staggering figure for a vehicle weighing just over 2,000 pounds.

The Lister-Chevrolet was purpose-built for the American Can-Am series, and its purpose was to win. It was an instant giant-killer. In the hands of legendary American drivers like Jim Hall, Dan Gurney, and Roger Penske, the Lister-Chevrolet dominated the early years of the Can-Am challenge, consistently beating the more sophisticated and expensive machinery from Ferrari and Porsche. It was crude, loud, and brutally effective—the perfect car for the American racing fan.

A handful of road-legal versions were also built for homologation purposes. These cars were even more extreme than their predecessors. The roar of the American V8 was a world away from the symphonic wail of the Jaguar XK. The Lister-Chevrolet cemented the company’s reputation as a maker of uncompromising, high-performance machines that blurred the line between track and street.

A Series of Revivals: The “Stirling” and the “Le Mans” (1986-1995)

After the 1960s, the Lister name went into a long hibernation. Geoffrey Lister continued to build bespoke cars for private customers in small numbers, but the company as a major force disappeared from the public eye. The revival came in the late 1980s, spearheaded by a new generation of enthusiasts.

In 1986, a company called Lister Cars, led by former racing driver Brian Lister Jr., revived the brand. The first new model was the “Lister-Stirling,” a tribute to the great Stirling Moss. This was a modern interpretation of the classic Knobbly, featuring a fiberglass body over a tubular chassis. It was sold as a kit or fully built, powered by a range of engines, including a 5.7-liter Chevrolet V8. It was a successful venture, proving that the appetite for classic Lister styling and performance had not faded.

Building on this success, the company launched the “Lister-Le Mans” in 1990. This was a more extreme, GT-style car, again featuring a Chevrolet V8 engine. The Le Mans was a legitimate road-legal supercar, capable of over 190 mph. It was a hand-built, low-volume machine that directly targeted cars like the Porsche 959 and Ferrari F40, though with a more raw and visceral character. Sales were predictably small, but the car earned critical praise for its performance and its unwavering adherence to the Lister ethos of lightweight, high-power engineering.

The Storm and the End of an Era (1999-2013)

The 21st century saw one final, dramatic chapter in the Lister story. Under the ownership of Lawrence Whittaker, the company embarked on its most ambitious project yet: the Lister Storm. Launched in 1999, the Storm was a true supercar. It featured a menacing, wedge-shaped body, scissor doors, and a race-derived 5.7-liter Jaguar V8 engine, producing over 400 horsepower. It was a stark departure from the classic Lister aesthetics, aiming instead for a modern, supercar appeal.

To prove its worth, Lister entered two factory-backed Storm GT cars in the 2000 FIA GT Championship. The cars were competitive, earning several podium finishes and demonstrating that Lister could still compete at the highest level of international endurance racing. A road-going version was also produced, with a price tag of over $250,000. It was a bold, expensive, and technically complex machine.

Despite the ambition, the Storm was launched into a turbulent market. The early 2000s were a difficult period for niche, high-end automakers. The cost of development, coupled with a global economic downturn, put immense pressure on the company. Despite several attempts to find new investment, including a partnership with a Chinese firm that ultimately fell through, the financial strain was too great. After a long and storied run, the Lister Motor Company entered final administration in 2013 and ceased trading.

Legacy and a Modern Ghost (2014-Present)

The Lister name did not disappear entirely. In 2014, the brand was acquired by a new consortium led by Andrew and Mike Wilkinson, who aimed to resurrect the company with a new business model: creating modern, high-performance luxury vehicles based on existing Jaguar platforms. The first fruits of this labor were the Lister LFT-666, a heavily modified Jaguar F-Type R. The “666” referred to its claimed horsepower figure, achieved through a host of upgrades including a new supercharger, upgraded suspension, and bespoke bodywork. The company has since expanded, offering Lister-tuned versions of the Jaguar I-PACE electric vehicle and the F-PACE SUV.

Today, the Wilkinsons’ Lister exists as a premium tuning house and luxury brand, a ghost of the original firm. It trades on the historic name and its connection to British racing green, but the spirit of the small, independent workshop in Cambridge that hammered out giant-killing racers is long gone.

Conclusion: What Made Lister Different?

What truly set Lister apart from its contemporaries was its singular focus and its almost reckless commitment to minimalism and power. While companies like Jaguar and Aston Martin were building elegant, refined grand tourers, Lister was building purpose-built weapons. The company’s history is not one of gradual evolution, but of distinct, brilliant sparks of genius born from necessity. It was a company that was constantly on the brink, yet its financial instability never compromised its engineering integrity.

The American reception to Lister was a perfect fit for its dual personalities. The classic Jaguar-engined cars were revered by collectors and racing historians, while the brutish Chevrolet-powered cars were embraced by the American racing public as one of their own—a British chassis with a Detroit heart.

From Larry Pomeroy’s initial vision to the Listers’ engineering prowess and their desperate American gambit, the company’s story is the quintessential tale of the underdog. They were the perpetual outsiders who, through sheer engineering talent and tenacity, built cars that could beat the world. Today, while the Lister name continues on in a different form, the original cars—the hand-beaten Knobblies and the V8-powered brutes—remain as enduring symbols of a time when a few dedicated men in a small workshop could take on the titans of the industry and, for a glorious moment, win.