<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Available with or without the Jaguar engine installed, the Listers were clothed in a tightly wrapped aluminium body with prominent bulges to clear the wheels, giving them the nick-name 'Knobbly'. The other engines available were Maserati's three litre six cylinder, a three litre version of the D-Type engine and the American Chevrolet V8. The interest in three litre engines was created by the sport's governing body to limit the World Championship eligible machines to that displacement. Admired by the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Archie Scott Brown was now finally fully accepted and he had ambitious plans for the 1958 season, which started with a successful tour with the Lister Jaguar in New Zeeland. A few weeks after his return, he accompanied Brian Lister to Belgium to race in the Spa Francorchamps round of the World Championship. Sadly he crashed heavily on the damp track and lost his life in the fierce fire that followed. Britain had lost one of its most talented drivers and an example to handicapped people around the world.
If it wasn't for outstanding contracts, Lister would have most likely withdrawn from racing on the spot following his lead driver and friend's fatal crash. Thanks in no small part to Scott Brown's successes the demand for Listers was high and although there were complaints about the lack of top speed, victories were scored on both sides of the Atlantic. To cure the high speed problems, Lister commissioned aerodynamics expert Frank Costin to design a more slippery body. This new design was debuted late in 1958 and equipped to all production Listers for 1959. Costin also helped with the design of a brand new spaceframe chassis that was thought to be required to compete in the three litre class. This multi tubular chassis design offered the same rigidity as a conventional ladder frame, but at a lower weight. The rather complex project ate away at Lister's finances and before the new car could be marketed, the company was forced to close down at the end of 1959.
Brian Lister returned to his family business, which he successfully ran with his brother in the following decades. He remained active in motorsport and was involved as a consultant in various projects. Many of the fifty some cars he had built have remained active to this date, first in contemporary races and later in historic races; often with a lot of success. In the last four decades many replicas were also constructed and it's estimated that around twice the number Listers currently exist today than were ever constructed by Brian Lister himself. With his approval the Lister name has been used from the 1980s by Laurence Pearce's company, which first modified Jaguars and later produced cars of their own with Jaguar engines. They were also frequently raced with an appearance at Le Mans and clinching the FIA GT Championship as highlights. The company also produced a small batch of 'authentic' replicas in the late 1980s and early 1990s as celebratory 'centenary' models. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Available with or without the Jaguar engine installed, the Listers were clothed in a tightly wrapped aluminium body with prominent bulges to clear the wheels, giving them the nick-name 'Knobbly'. The other engines available were Maserati's three litre six cylinder, a three litre version of the D-Type engine and the American Chevrolet V8. The interest in three litre engines was created by the sport's governing body to limit the World Championship eligible machines to that displacement. Admired by the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Archie Scott Brown was now finally fully accepted and he had ambitious plans for the 1958 season, which started with a successful tour with the Lister Jaguar in New Zeeland. A few weeks after his return, he accompanied Brian Lister to Belgium to race in the Spa Francorchamps round of the World Championship. Sadly he crashed heavily on the damp track and lost his life in the fierce fire that followed. Britain had lost one of its most talented drivers and an example to handicapped people around the world.