Lister creates road-going Knobbly
Looks gorgeous, price does not
For the first time in its history, British sports car manufacturer Lister will build a dedicated road-going version of their fabled race car, the Knobbly.
The Knobbly, which appeared on the racetrack for the first time more than 60 years ago, is steeped in motor racing history, and was steered by some greats of the time, including; Sir Stirling Moss, Bruce Halford, Archie Scott Brown and Innes Ireland.
The continuation model is hand-made to original specifications and retains original manufacturing practises and techniques such as a hand-beaten aluminium body which takes over 500 hours to craft.
In addition, the new Knobbly’s powertrain also remains largely true to the original racer, retaining a six-cylinder, 3.8L Jaguar motor and four-speed box which Lister says is almost identical to the Jaguar D-Type running gear used in the original Knobblys of the ‘50s.
The engines are built using all-new remanufactured parts around an original Jaguar block and are assembled by Crosthwaite & Gardiner, who specialise in vintage racer engines.
According to Lister, the 3.8L jag motor is capable of producing 246kW (330bhp), which means that despite being essentially more than 60 years old, the car is capable of accelerating from 0 – 100 km/h in a blistering 4.3 seconds before on topping out at 291 km/h (181mph).
"I am really proud and excited that the Lister Motor Company has succeeded by being the first, and to date the only, specialist sports car maker to engineer and launch a fully road legal version of a racing continuation model," says Lister Motor Company CEO Lawrence Whittaker.
"This is a hugely important step for us, making Lister the first to be able to offer our enthusiastic clients the excitement and thrills of driving a historically significant race car on the road. Our new road legal Knobbly also paves the way for more future road-going Lister models too."
Just 10 continuation models will be built and they are not cheap, with the 3.8L version commanding a price tag of £295,000 (AUD$516,000).
However, Lister will sell you a Knobbly with a cheaper 4.2L Jaguar motor for £225,000(AUD$394,000), but if you were prepared to shell out for one of these gorgeous machines, surely you’d go for the original 3.8L.
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