1989 Lister Jaguar 7.0-Litre Le Mans Coupé
Registration no. FCF 3
Chassis no. 038LJ05LM
Engine no. LP047/70L

A director of his family's Cambridge-based light engineering firm, Brian Lister was better placed than most to become a racing car designer. He enlisted the considerable talents of Don Moore and Archie Scott-Brown to help with engine tuning and driving respectively, and built his first car in 1954. The MG XPAG-powered Lister proved an immediate success, notching up five 1st and eight 2nd places in short order. Upgraded that summer with a Bristol straight six, the Lister won its class during the British Grand Prix support race and throughout the 1955 and '56 UK racing seasons was a serious thorn in the side of both the Aston Martin and Jaguar works teams. Fitted with Jaguar straight-six and American V8 engines, the Lister 'knobbly' sports-racers proved immensely successful at international level through the 1950s but by the decade's end the writing was on the wall for front-engined sports-racers and Lister closed at the end of 1959.

In recent years cars bearing the Lister name have been a major force in GT racing worldwide. From the early 1980s the name has also graced some of the world's fastest road cars, after an agreement first with BLE Automotive and then WP Automotive saw converted XJ-S models marketed as Lister Jaguars. Following six years of development, the Lister Le Mans burst onto the supercar scene in 1989. Named in honour of Jaguar's successes at La Sarthe in the 1980s, the Le Mans featured a 7.0-litre version of Jaguar's V12 engine, comprehensively re-worked and upgraded to cope with its now 604bhp maximum power output. A similar torque figure ensured stupendous acceleration in any gear. Needless to say, the suspension, brakes, wheels and tyres were up-rated to cope, while a purposeful-looking body kit ensured that the car remained stable at its 200mph maximum speed. The price? A cool £160,000.

Previously registered 'G445 UGX' and '9951 EJ', the car we offer is the fifth of only 20 Lister Le Mans made. Chassis number '038LJ05LM' served as Lister's demonstrator and featured in its sales brochures before being purchased by industrialist Jack Walker, who had just sold the Blackburn-based family firm, Walkersteel, to the British Steel Corporation for more than £300 million. A keen supporter of Blackburn Rovers, Walker bought the football club and invested heavily in new players, twice setting a new British record for the most expensive transfer. Jack Walker died in 2000 but in 1994/1995 had had the immense satisfaction of seeing his beloved team win the Premier League.

In 1994 this Lister Le Mans was sold to Mr Eric Palethorpe, one of Jack Walker's fellow company directors, who kept it until September 2013 when it passed to the current registered keeper. Now carrying the cherished registration 'FCF 3', the Lister has covered only 38,000 miles from new and comes with service history including a bill for £3,400 for its most recent service. The car also comes with a Lister handbook pack, sales brochure, (copy) old V5, V5C document and a quantity of expired MoTs. Freshly MoT'd, 'FCF 3' represents an exciting opportunity to acquire a powerful car possessing an exceptional specification, as well as a direct link with one of the greatest of all Jaguar exponents. The car will be driven to the sale.