Lister Jaguar Knobbly Stirling Moss edition – In detail
Brian Lister met Sir Stirling Moss in the summer of 1954 and the two became great friends, their mutual respect immediately binding them. Moss raced for Lister on three occasions: Goodwood on 25th September 1954, Silverstone on 19th July 1958 and Sebring, USA, on 21st March 1959.
In 1958, the Lister works team was locked in an intense battle with works cars from Aston Martin, Jaguar, Ferrari, Lotus and customer Listers run by Scottish racing team Ecurie Ecosse. Tragedy struck in May that year when Brian Lister’s much-loved star driver, Archie Scott Brown, crashed at Spa and died later from his injuries. Overcome with grief, Brian Lister initially wanted to leave the sport, but realising he had customer commitments, continued and kept Lister racing.
Keen for a victory at the sports car race of the British Grand Prix round at Silverstone on 19th July, Brian Lister employed the services of Stirling Moss, who was racing for Vanwall in the F1 world championship. Moss took pole in the magnesium-bodied Lister, which wore the famous number plate ‘MVE 303’ and, against a field which included Roy Salvadori and Graham Hill, took victory at an average speed of 97.92mph.
As well as a magnesium body, the car that Moss drove had a lighter chassis and many other modifications. With the works cars, Brian Lister’s aim was to reduce weight and improve performance. So it goes with the Lister Jaguar Knobbly Stirling Moss edition.
Whereas the standard continuation Knobblys run a three-inch outer diameter tubular steel chassis with a 14 gauge, the Stirling Moss editions run an even thinner wall: a 16 gauge. This tubing is not readily available so George Lister Engineering hollows out existing tubing to gain the required thickness. Every chassis is built using exactly the same jig used on the original 1950s cars.
The body of the Stirling Moss edition car is also different to the standard Knobbly. It features lower, more aerodynamic front wings, known as the Long Wing Design, which help the car slip through the air more easily while also improving stability, by reducing front-end lift at high speed.
This modification is the sole aesthetic difference between the Stirling Moss editions and the standard cars. The other main difference is the material out of which the body is made: magnesium.
Lighter than aluminum by around 30 per cent, magnesium is much harder to manipulate into different shapes. And whereas aluminum can be re-formed, magnesium cannot. It is also more expensive and harder to come by.
The skill of the body former is therefore crucial: he must make sure there is no waste material, yet also turn perfect panels again-and-again. As a result, the process is more painstaking and requires even more expert craftsmanship.
It takes around 4-6 weeks to form an entire aluminum-bodied Knobbly – the magnesium-bodied Lister Jaguar Knobbly Stirling Moss editions require 12-18 weeks, three times as long. The panels are formed using the same styling buck as was used on the original works cars. This bodyshell is then painted the same classic green and yellow as the original car that Moss raced back in 1958 at Silverstone.
Magnesium is not just used in the body. It is also used for the clutch and differential casings and the sump of the 3.8-litre Jaguar D Type Racing Engine, the same engine that appears in the continuation Knobbly.
Produced by Crosthwaite and Gardiner, the wide-angle straight-six produces 337bhp at 6,750rpm and 295 lbs ft of torque at 4,250rpm. Drive goes to the rear wheels via an original specification four-speed Jaguar D Type gearbox, again produced by Crosthwaite and Gardener.
Overall, the Lister Jaguar Knobbly Stirling Moss edition weighs just 841kg. Zero to 60mph takes less than four seconds, 0-100mph comes up in under 10 seconds and maximum speed is up to 184mph.
The Lister Jaguar Knobbly Stirling Moss edition features a bespoke leather interior, with the final touch being a solid sterling silver individually numbered plaque – ranging from 1 to 10 – with Sir Stirling Moss’s signature engraved and located on the dashboard.
Every Lister Jaguar Knobbly Stirling Moss is truly hand-built. Like the Knobbly continuation, George Lister Engineering in Cambridge uses original production techniques while some of the original mechanics from the 1950s are still employed as consultants. It takes 4-5 months to build a Lister Jaguar Knobbly Stirling Moss from scratch, some 1-2 months longer than an aluminum-bodied continuation car.
Lawrence Whittaker, CEO Lister Motor Company, continued:“With this limited run of 10 Stirling Moss editions, we are continuing the tradition of hand-building cars at George Lister Engineering in Cambridge, using many of the traditional methods that were used in 1954, as well as some of the original engineers. We are keeping Brian Lister’s legacy alive – and that is so important to us all.”
Sir Stirling Moss added: “Brian Lister’s cars were always engineered to an incredible degree. His passion for technical excellence and dedication to staying ahead of the pack was without equal, yet he was always such a complete gentleman. I thrived on that – it was always a real pleasure to drive for him. I wouldn’t put my name to anything that wasn’t the real deal and having been to the factory in Cambridge, I’ve seen first-hand how George Lister Engineering is continuing to use the same skills and techniques that were employed in the 1950s.”
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