1990 | Lister Le Mans

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. Since 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 80's, the Lister totally transformed its Jaguar XJ-S base into a mega powerful 200mph supercar. The bored out seven litre Jaguar engine produced a mighty 600bhp with an identical 600lb ft 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 nitrided; whilst Cosworth conrods carried special forged pistons. New bearings and a modified oil system were also deemed necessary in order to reliably deliver the 500bhp that it could now produce. Clearly the suspension and braking were going to need some attention; and this they duly got.

This example was purchased by our vendor in 2018 following some time in storage and he then set about making this one of, if not the best examples in existence. Listers are all prone to rust around where the new body panels are fitted and due to their design, they all require attention if they haven't been remedied already. This car was entrusted to Premier Paintwork who completely stripped the whole car back to bare metal repaired all of the corrosion and then repainted the car to an exceptional standard. To protect this work, our vendor has had the car fully PPF'd at great expense in the last month or so.

The biggest bulk of the expenditure was with leading Jaguar specialist, Tom Lenthall, who is probably the best in the world at working on Jaguar V12 engines. The engine was fully rebuilt and improved with a stand alone Emerald ECU, new injectors, coil packs, HT leads and then fully set up on the rolling road. This ensures the car has vastly improved reliability and temperature management, and ensures the car is future proofed against the common issues these engines can have in terms of reliability. A full underside restoration was also carried out, along with practically anything else the car needed to be as close to perfect as possible. The total bills from Tom Lenthall come to circa £45,000 and the engine is still in its 'running in' phase, such few miles have been covered since the work was completed around 2022.

The beautiful Lister specific wheels were also full stripped down and refinished by Wheel Unique at a cost of £875, to ensure they match the quality of the rest of the car. An upgraded air conditioning unit has also been fitted, a huge improvement over the original and again further future proofing the car. All badges have been refinished by Pamela Davis Enamels and the overall result is a car which is in virtually concours condition and would be welcome at all manner of prestigious events.

Supplied to auction with cherished registration 'A70 LTR' ('A 7.0 LITRE), invoices for the restoration works and original pieces of literature and brochures, an MoT test certificate valid until June 2026 and a V5C registration document. This example is ready for its next custodian, safe in the knowledge that the car has been right through by the best people in the business. Consigned by Fraser Smith

Lot details
Year: 1990
Make: Lister
Model: Le Mans (7.0 litre)
Registration: A70 LTR
Chassis No: 041LJ06LM
Odometer: 12,751


* One of approximately 20 Le Mans 7.0 litre's built

* Crica £45k spent with leading Jaguar engine specialist Tom Lenthall

* £25,000 spent with leading XJS bodywork specialist Premier Paintwork

* Probably the very best example in existence