Lister Motor Company has announced the launch of a limited run of 10 special edition cars; the Lister Knobbly Jaguar Stirling Moss. Eligable for Historic Racing, each car features a handmade magnesium body and special lightweight specification of the original ‘works’ racing Knobblys of the 1950s.
These cars follow on from an initial run of 10 aluminium-bodied continuations – now all sold out – production of which began in 2014 at George Lister Engineering. Each is built using the same techniques as the original 1950s Knobbly, following the acquisition of Lister Motor Company by Andrew and Lawrence Whittaker in 2013.
The 10 Stirling Moss editions will celebrate Moss’s races for Brian Lister in the ‘works’ racing cars in the 1950s. While some original Lister Knobblys are still campaigned in historic racing, none of the original magnesium-bodied ‘works’ cars survive.
To keep ahead of customer cars and other rivals in the 1950s, Brian Lister reserved a special lightweight specification for his ‘works’ Knobbly racing cars – with one of the main features being a magnesium body.
All 10 Lister Jaguar Knobbly Stirling Moss editions will faithfully feature the same specification as the ‘works’ car with which Moss won at Silverstone in 1958. Every Stirling Moss edition will be built at exactly the same factory as the standard lightweight Knobbly: George Lister Engineering in Cambridge, UK. The chassis will be made using exactly the same jig as was used for the first Knobbly, while the bodies will be formed around the same styling buck too.
The car is eligible for historic racing, and will come with a full FIA HTP passport, allowing entry into the Stirling Moss Trophy among other blue riband races on the historic racing calendar.
Each car will be priced from GB£1m (US$1.34m) with first deliveries expected to be completed in autumn 2017.
“The launch of these Stirling Moss editions represents a truly unique opportunity,” explained Lawrence Whittaker, CEO Lister Motor Company. “None of the original magnesium-bodied ‘works’ Lister Knobblys survived from the 1950s, so the fortunate few who get to own a Stirling Moss edition will be getting a period-correct continuation ‘works’ Lister made using the same techniques as the original.”
As well as a magnesium body, the car that Moss drove had a lighter chassis and many other modifications. With the works cars, Brian Lister’s aim was to reduce weight and improve performance. So it goes with the Lister Jaguar Knobbly Stirling Moss edition.
Whereas the standard continuation Knobblys run a three-inch outer diameter tubular steel chassis with a 14 gauge, the Stirling Moss editions run an even thinner wall: a 16 gauge. This tubing is not readily available so George Lister Engineering hollows out existing tubing to gain the required thickness. Every chassis is built using exactly the same jig used on the original 1950s cars.
The body of the Stirling Moss edition car is also different to the standard Knobbly. It features lower, more aerodynamic front wings, known as the Long Wing Design, which helps reduce front-end lift.
Magnesium is not just used in the body. It is also used for the clutch and differential casings and the sump of the 3.8-litre Jaguar D Type Racing Engine, the same engine that appears in the continuation Knobbly.
Produced by Crosthwaite and Gardiner, the wide-angle straight-six produces 337bhp at 6,750rpm and 295 lbs ft of torque at 4,250rpm. Drive goes to the rear wheels via an original specification four-speed Jaguar D Type gearbox, again produced by Crosthwaite and Gardener.
Overall, the Lister Jaguar Knobbly Stirling Moss edition weighs just 841kg. Zero to 60mph takes less than four seconds, 0-100mph comes up in under 10 seconds and maximum speed is up to 184mph.
