"Lister is one of the most renowned names in sports car racing history and the Lister Jaguar, designed by Brian Lister, swept almost all before it during its first full racing season in 1957. From the early 1980's the name has also graced some of the world's fastest road cars and in 1989, with the culmination of six years of development work, the Lister Le Mans arrived on the supercar scene. Christened 'Le Mans' to celebrate Jaguar's success there in the late 1980's, the Lister totally transformed its Jaguar XJ-S base into a mega powerful 200mph supercar. The bored out 7.0 litre Jaguar engine produced a mighty 600bhp with an identical 600lbft of torque ensuring effortless acceleration in any gear. The basic XJ-S body was extensively modified with large alloy wheels, restyled rear buttresses and a plethora of ground hugging skirts, spoilers and superb Lister Recaro leather interior. For those who felt the standard V12 Jaguar engine a bit insipid, Lister added a comprehensive tuning package. The fuel injection was modified with four additional injectors and throttle bodies. The engine management system was tweaked, the heads gas flowed with larger valves fitted and to take the power the crankshaft was nitride; whilst Cosworth con-rods carried special forged pistons. New bearings and a modified oil system were also deemed necessary in order to reliably deliver the 604bhp that it could now produce. Clearly the suspension and braking were going to need some attention; and this they duly got.
According to Lister factory chassis records, this XJS is one of only 25 Mk. III 7.0 litre coupés produced. Lister number #081LJ was supplied new in the UK as a standard 1990 XJS and converted by the Lister factory to 6.0 litre Mk. III specification. In March 1992 it was returned to the factory where it received the full upgrade to the 7.0 litre ‘Le Mans’ Spec. The large history file contains invoices for the engine work, the Getrag 6-speed gearbox, twin superchargers and work to complete the conversion; total amount for this alone cost £77,000. Also included are invoices, receipts and MoT’s which substantiate the history and the total mileage of 47,200 miles from new. In 2012 a large number of recommissioning jobs were completed by David Marks, a respected engineer within the Jaguar Club circle and in January 2015 #081LJ was road-tested by Ross Alkureishi of Classic Cars Magazine who stated: “Say hello to the biggest, baddest Jaguar on the planet – not even the XJ220 comes close in terms of sheer brute force… At 3000rpm the twin superchargers kick in fully, the rear squats down, the nose rises and you’re hurtled forward as the instant torque arrives with a visceral ferocity.” The car was purchased by a private collector in 2016 who set about renovating the car to its former glory which included a full engine rebuild started in 2019 and completed in 2020, the car was then sent for a complete respray in the original colour blue which was finished just six months ago and the cream, leather Recaro interior has just been reconnolised. Since the engine rebuild the car has covered 500 miles. Supplied with #081LJ is the UK V5C registration document, an MoT which expires in March 2022 and the large history file. This is a seriously quick, powerful, no holds barred sort of a motor car."