Lister has struck fear and excitement in the hearts and pants respectively of petrol heads worldwide since the early 80s. With a penchant for power and a team of mechanics who collectively scribbled out the word “restraint” from their dictionaries, they took Jaguars known for their grace, space, and pace and heaped on the latter with gay abandon. The XJ-S is admittedly not the fastest car ever to hit tarmac, but in the hands of Lister it was totally transformed into a 200mph supercar at a time when such things were frankly unadvisable. 500 frantic horses erupted from the comprehensively reworked 7.0 litre version of Jaguar’s V12 and, with a torque figure to match, rampant acceleration was assured, regardless of the situation. 

The Lister MKIII Cabriolet you see here is believed to be the only one in existence and its 0-60 time of 4.5 seconds was enough to embarrass contemporary Ferrari Testarossas. Previously, it formed part of the Royal Fleet before the Royal Guard decided it was a risk to the Queen’s safety (we assume). Now benefitting form a comprehensive restoration at the hands of Jaguar specialists, KWE in Berkshire, it’s ready to bring terror and joy to its next owner. Unbelievably, the hardtop is even more powerful. Christened the Lister Le Mans following Jaguar’s success there in the late 80s, this imposing coupe is one of only 25 made and possesses  twin superchargers, earning it the top spot in the jungle. A positively insane 600hp and 600lbft of torque will allow the driver to reverse the Earth’s rotation. Also benefitting from a comprehensive restoration, if you are brave enough this pair of Listers will be up for auction with Historics Auctioneers at Windsorview Lakes on July 17th. They would certainly make for one hell of a two car garage.