Lister is back in the business of modifying Jaguars, churning out continuation “Knobbly” roadsters and tuned F-Types, among others. But if those don’t quite do the trick, you might want to check out this classic sports racer.
It’s a 1959 Lister-Jaguar with bodywork by Frank Costin. It was campaigned in period by the famous Team Cunningham and driven by no less legendary a pilot than Sir Stirling Moss – the sixteen-time F1 grand prix winner oft described as “the greatest driver never to win the World Championship.”
And to notable effect, we might add, this Lister having won the SCCA C-Modified National Championship at the hands of American driver Walt Hansgen. That was the fourth consecutive and final time he won the title (having done the same in Jaguar D-Types the three prior years running).
Several years later, Hansgen died from injuries sustained in a crash while practicing for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, ending a life and career that also saw him contest the Indianapolis 500 and the United States Grand Prix twice each (though to less notable effect).
The question now is who’ll drive it next, and the answer could be: you. The Lister is coming up for auction, consigned early to Bonhams for its Scottsdale sale this coming January.
The auctioneer isn’t saying how much it expects the classic racer to sell for, but it’s sold similar examples for hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars in previous auctions. So we wouldn’t go to Arizona in the New Year hoping for a bargain on this particular set of wheels. But it’s bound to make one classic racing enthusiast very happy indeed.