Lister Storm History

With the Le Mans programme established, Laurence Pearce commissioned a purpose-built successor: the Lister Storm, unveiled in 1993. Built on an aluminium honeycomb monocoque clad in Kevlar and aluminium panels, the Storm used a 7.0-litre, 24-valve Jaguar V12 derived from the race-winning XJR-9 Le Mans engine. Bored and stroked from the original 6.0-litre unit, it produced 546 hp (554 PS) and 583 lb-ft of torque — at the time the largest-displacement V12 fitted to any production road car since the Second World War. A claimed top speed of 208 mph and 0–60 mph in 4.1 seconds made it the fastest four-seat grand tourer on sale. Just four road cars were produced, at £220,000 each, the high price severely limiting demand.

The Storm's real story is its racing career. The Lister Storm GTS made its Le Mans debut in 1995 in the GT1 class alongside the McLaren F1 GTR, Ferrari F40 LM, and Jaguar XJ220S, retiring with gearbox failure but establishing the marque's competition credentials. Success came decisively in 2000 when a works Storm won both the drivers' and constructors' championships in the FIA GT Championship — a remarkable result for such a small constructor. The racing programme continued, and a dedicated Le Mans Prototype variant was developed in 2003, before the Storm race cars were eventually retired in 2005.