Fire-breathing Lister Stealth for sale
Sixty years of Lister, bottled and detonated in a 666hp F-Pace. And now effectively half price
One outcome of Jaguar’s (let’s face it, ill-conceived) decision to go fully electric is that there is nothing new for Lister to turn its attention to. This seems a shame because for a little while the firm seemed to be building up quite a head of steam as an aftermarket tuner of Jaguar’s V8-powered output. Its version of the F-Type, the LFT-666, certainly looked the part - and sounded it, too. Not for nothing was it originally dubbed ‘The Thunder’.
The same went for the F-Pace, which adopted the name ‘Stealth’, to everyone’s amusement. Unless you were impossibly distant from it, the resulting car had about as much to do with stealth as an SR-71 Blackbird taking off from Heathrow. Lister had seen to that with some bespoke styling tweaks and the sort of 21-inch rims that made even the SVR model it was based on look shy and retiring.
But mostly it was about the 666hp output. Lister called it ‘Britain’s fastest SUV’ when it launched, and while it has since been overtaken by several rivals (and by some distance when you consider the 727hp that Aston has conjured from the latest DBX), the fact that it gets to 62mph in considerably less than 4 seconds does still put it on the top shelf of fast SUVs. It’ll do 195mph, after all.
That was a big selling point, of course, though it was likely outweighed by the glowering presence of the thing, especially in black. While pumped up, the SVR had clung onto a carefully cultivated family-friendly vibe; Lister tossed this aside as it sought to beat the Germans and Italians at their own chin-jutting game. This wasn’t everyone’s jam at the time, unsurprisingly, but in an increasingly homogenised landscape, it does a good job of portraying all the swashbuckling attitude you’d expect from a car with a loud-n-proud supercharged V8.
There’s also the in-built kudos of a Lister badge. It encompasses not just the craziness of the V12-powered Storm, but also a heritage that runs all the way back to ’54 and the glory of the Knobbly. The Stealth might not have the unique appeal of either forerunner, but there are said to be fewer than 100 examples worldwide, so it has comparative rarity on its side - as well as being no less practical or well-appointed than the SVR it was based on. More so, if you’re inclined towards stitched leather upholstery.
Happily, from a buyer’s perspective, none of this has prevented depreciation from taking the edge off. The last time we drew your attention to a Stealth, it was valued at £100k. This time around, for a car with just 23k on the clock and two previous owners in the logbook, you’re looking at £65k. Still a big premium over a standard F-Pace SVR from 2019, mind, but that’s almost beside the point. Lister wanted its car to rival the likes of Lamborghini for SUV silliness, and got a good way there. As game plans go, it was probably superior to the one Jaguar came up with.
However I don’t own a major petroleum company, so I think I’m screwed on that front.
The interior is a bit too ‘busy’, the quilting effect on the upholstery will be a love it / loathe it for many.
The wheels?
I’d rather have them finished in a (very) ‘smoked chrome effect.
And is it me or do the carbon-look tailpipe finishers look like they have just been slipped on. Badly.
Personally I think the ‘black on black on black’ approach makes it look like the sort of vehicle that Darth Bader would use. Or his codpiece.
Only heard people say it after James May did.
The body kit is like Darth Vader’s helmet and not forgetting it’s still a F Pace, which is really 4 up, not 5.
However that engine!
Looked at a pre FL one a couple of years ago and the exhaust note was outrageous. And that was me driving an E63S at the time as well. Bespoke custom made titanium exhaust. Yes please. Unfortunately it hadn’t been looked after so it was a no at the time.
Test drove an ‘ordinary’ SVR F Pace and was mightily impressed. Brilliant cars that have slipped under the radar. Watch a side by side test against a RRS SVR and the Jag leaves the Rangey for dead. Not a big pudding and the handling was way better than I thought. The Lister is in your face but in a good. Plus you will hardly ever see another one on the road. Oh and for around £2.5k Lister will tune your F Pace SVR for the whole 666 bhp. But no titanium exhaust unfortunately.
Only heard people say it after James May did.
Only heard people say it after James May did.
and a whole lot more that would get me banned.
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