Page 1 of 2 Next >> During the mid-1980s, the Lister name was revived by ambitious engineer Laurence Pearce. Whereas the original company had strictly produced competition cars, the most of which were powered by Jaguar engines, Pearce started with modifying / upgrading the contemporary Jaguar XJS. Improving the performance of the V12-engined machine and adding a wild bodykit, Pearce created the Lister Jaguar XJS Le Mans of which nearly a 100 were sold.
With the market for modified Jaguars drying up, Pearce decided to go one step further and develop a brand new car from the ground up. Known as the Lister Storm, it was first shown to the world at the 1993 London Motor Show. The new first new Lister in over three decades combined a bespoke aluminium chassis with the high performance drivetrain of the Jaguar-based models to create what was the fastest 2+2 Grand Tourer at the time. It probably was also the most expensive as the required £210,000 ($350,000) to get one would have bought three Ferrari 456 GTs at the time.
The Storm's lightweight monocoque was crafted from an aluminium honeycomb core sandwiched by aluminium sheets. As this material was notoriously difficult to to bend, the chassis was very square. To an extend this also influenced the low and broad lines of the exterior, which were penned by Mike Hughes. Most panels were made from either exotic composites like Kevlar or aluminium. The doors were sourced from a Volkswagen Corrado, be it re-skinned with aluminium. While perhaps not particularly pleasing to the eye, the Storm's exterior design was hugely efficient and allowed the car to run at 300 km/h with relative ease. Page 1 of 2 Next >>