- Lister Motor Company’s Knobbly Stirling Moss edition has made its US debut at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®
- Limited edition car wowed crowds with star appearances at The Lodge Concept Lawn and the Pebble Beach RetroAuto
- Official launch took place at the Inn at Spanish Bay™ in the Pebble Beach® Classic Car Forum with guest of honour, Sir Stirling Moss
- Each of the ten production cars will feature the same lightweight spec as the Lister ‘works’ car in which Moss won at Silverstone in 1958
- With none of the original ‘works’ Lister Knobblys surviving today, this is a unique opportunity to buy a continuation ‘works’ Lister Knobbly
- Stirling Moss edition will also be the only car in the world to feature a body made entirely from lightweight magnesium
- Each will be painted classic racing green and yellow and feature a plaque signed by Sir Stirling Moss
- These 10 cars will be available priced from $1 million plus taxes
- Lister Motor Company has already taken several deposits
Pebble Beach – 22nd August 2016
Lister Motor Company’s Knobbly Stirling Moss edition has made its US debut at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®.
The limited run car wowed crowds over the course of the prestigious event making several stellar appearances including on the famous Lodge Concept Lawn and at the Pebble Beach RetroAuto.
The car was officially launched to the public and media at the Inn at Spanish Bay™ in the Pebble Beach® Classic Car Forum pavilion, at an event hosted by Alain de Cadenet with Sir Stirling Moss as the guest of honour.
Just 10 special edition cars will be produced, each featuring a magnesium body and special lightweight specification – just like the original ‘works’ racing Knobblys of the 1950s. These cars follow on from an initial run of 10 aluminium-bodied continuations – now all sold out – production of which began in 2014 at George Lister Engineering. Each is built using the same techniques as the original 1950s Knobbly, following the acquisition of Lister Motor Company by Andrew and Lawrence Whittaker in 2013.
The 10 Stirling Moss editions will celebrate Moss’s races for Brian Lister in the ‘works’ racing cars in the 1950s. While some original Lister Knobblys are still campaigned in historic racing, none of the original ‘works’ cars survive, making this limited run an incredible opportunity for collectors and Lister enthusiasts.
To keep ahead of customer cars and other rivals in the 1950s, Brian Lister reserved a special lightweight specification for his ‘works’ Knobbly racing cars – with one of the main features being a magnesium body.
Magnesium is an exceptional material, lightweight but difficult to source and expensive. It is also time-consuming to work with as it is very hard to form, requiring incredible skill and craftsmanship. As a result, Lister has invested hugely in research and development into how to work with magnesium and produce perfect, hand-turned bodywork.
All 10 Lister Knobbly Stirling Moss editions will faithfully feature the same specification as the ‘works’ car with which Moss won at Silverstone in 1958. Key features of the Lister Knobbly Stirling Moss edition are:
- Bodyshell manufactured from lightweight magnesium with aerodynamic low-drag Long Wing Design front wings
- Engine sump manufactured from magnesium
- Clutch and differential casing manufactured from magnesium
- Lightweight tubular steel chassis
- Solid sterling silver number plaque 1 to 10 with Sir Stirling Moss’s signature engraved
- Classic Lister green & yellow paint, matching the original 1950s design
Each one of the 10 owners will receive a factory handover from Sir Stirling Moss and a personal welcome letter from the legendary racing driver. Every Lister Knobbly Stirling Moss will be built at exactly the same factory as the standard lightweight Knobbly: George Lister Engineering in Cambridge. The chassis will be made using exactly the same jig as was used for the first Knobbly back in 1958, while the bodies will be formed around the same styling buck too. Each car will be priced from $1 million plus taxes.
Lawrence Whittaker, CEO Lister Motor Company, said: “The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®is without doubt the most important concours event in the world and a must-attend week on the historic motoring calendar. It has been a great honour to show our Knobbly Stirling Moss edition at the Pebble Beach RetroAuto, the Inn at Spanish Bay™ at the Pebble Beach® Classic Car Forum and on The Lodge Concept Lawn. Everywhere we have taken the car it’s been met with huge enthusiasm. I’m absolutely delighted to have launched the car to such a discerning and receptive audience.
“These Stirling Moss editions represent a truly unique opportunity. None of the original ‘works’ Lister Knobblys survived from the 1950s, so the fortunate few who get to own a Stirling Moss edition will be getting a period-correct continuation ‘works’ Lister made using the same techniques as the original.
“Secondly, as magnesium is such a difficult-to-source material and requires incredible skill and craftsmanship to form, the Lister Knobbly Stirling Moss edition will be the only magnesium-bodied car you can buy – either as a road or racing car – anywhere in the world.
“Thirdly, this is only the second time in history that Sir Stirling Moss has put his name to a car. And this is truly limited run – we are only making 10. Ever. There will be no more. Factor in a personal factory hand-over from Sir Stirling Moss himself – a true British hero and a man who played a huge role in putting Lister on podiums in the 1950s – and you have an unrivalled, very personal experience. And an instant classic.”
Sir Stirling Moss said: “The Knobbly remains one of my favourite racing cars. I remember getting into it in 1958 and thinking ‘who is going to beat me in this?’ At the time I knew they were quick but I never realised, until now, that they were so different to the customer cars.
“These magnesium-bodied continuations redefine the word ‘special’: they are hugely collectible and they will be very fast indeed. They will be winners on the track – just as they were in their day. I’m looking forward to meeting the new owners and seeing some of these amazing cars on the historic racing circuit being driven flat out as there were designed to be.”
Lister Rebirth
In 2013 The Lister Motor Company was acquired by father and son team Andrew and Lawrence Whittaker. 2013 marked 60 years since the first Lister racing car and to celebrate this landmark the Whittakers’ first major venture was to announce ten Lister Knobbly continuation cars. These iconic tool room copies were manufactured using the same techniques, jigs and bucks as the originals and all ten cars had secured deposits within just four weeks of their release.
Financial stability and an ethos of extremely high production build quality has led to the Lister brand once more burning brightly, with values of original cars increasing significantly since the Lister Motor Company was reborn.