The Lister Knobbly is back! Back in 2013 we learned that the Knobbly racer of the 1950s was to come back as a recreation. And now, here it is.
Its arrival could be called bittersweet; built using the same jigs and following the same Brian Lister drawings as the 1958 original, it makes its public debut a few weeks after the man himself passed away.
What a tribute, though. It looks fantastic, for starters: just look at those upward-swinging doors, hugely sculptured wheel arches and that fantastic wraparound screen.
And under that curvy surface lies a Jaguar D-Type-derived 3.8-litre straight-six, producing 330bhp and 295lb ft.
In a world of 300bhp Golfs that's not a figure to impress the kids anymore, but in a car of such scant weight, wearing modest tyres and without a modicum of an electronic safety net, it's absolutely enough to be getting on with.
Attempting its 181mph top speed, 4.3sec 0-60mph dash or 10.1sec 0-100mph sprint is certainly only recommended if you're wearing your finest racing shoes and are feeling particularly snappy of reactions.
Priced at around £300,000, Lister's limited run of ten Knobblys has long since sold out, and it's considering a further three unique specials to satisfy further demand.
If you think that's a fat wodge of money to spend on something that looks archaic, think again: it's less than ten per cent of the going rate for an original D-Type running the same engine. And with relevant FIA approval, the nowadays Knobbly can still be entered into historic racing events.
The Knobbly is just the start of things for reborn Lister, though. When TG spoke to boss Lawrence Whittaker last year, he told us a 1000bhp hypercar comes next. "The McLaren P1 is a million-pound car, but it's more mainstream than what we're thinking". It's a strong statement: reckon Lister can do it?
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