Oof: almighty Lister XJS Le Mans for sale
Manual? Tick. 7.0 V12? Tick. Twin supercharged? Tick
Thanks to TWR and its stunning Supercat, the Jaguar XJS is back on radars in a way it hasn’t been for a very long time. Who knew there was such a thing lurking inside the base Jag? Certainly it promises a phenomenal driving experience, given the motorsport nous and prodigious power being thrown at it. Plus that design, of course.
That being said, interest has been growing in the E-Type’s replacement for a while now. There have been less extravagant takes on restomodding them, plus a keen classic motorsport community. With values of its predecessor so strong for so long, the XJS offered a way into old-school straight-six and V12 Jag coupe motoring for considerably less. The later XKs are lovely things, too, but V8 only. Given Jaguar’s heritage with six and 12 cylinders, plus an increasing acceptance of the XJS’s futuristic (for its time) appearance, it has looked a canny classic buy for a while now. There’s half a century of experience keeping them going now, too.
Anything modified by Lister in period has been the most desirable XJSes available ever since they were first made. It’s easy to see why; even in the '80s, Jaguar and Lister had a relationship that went back decades thanks to the XK straight-six in the original Knobbly. So there was history there. And with Lister’s commercial return to prominence, plus Jaguar’s endurance racing success, the stage was set for some truly spectacular modified saloons and sports cars.
This is one of them, an XJS built to Le Mans spec (and then some) during the early '90s. Given it was the 7.0-litre XJR-9 that was victorious at the 24 Hours, it only made sense in a power-crazed period for a Lister package called Le Mans to offer up the same capacity. So while this one lacks the distinctive front end that marked out a lot of the Lister Le Mans XJSes, it most certainly boasts all the important bits: a 7.0-litre V12, two superchargers, and a six-speed manual gearbox. There’s modifying, you see, and then there’s modifying…
More than 30 years ago, almost £80,000 was spent upgrading the big Jag. Which would have bought a house back then. Or two. For the first visit in 1991, just a year after registration, in excess of £50k was spent on the Le Mans bodywork, an engine rebuild, a new gearbox and suspension overhaul. The following year it returned for the six-speed, the extra 1.7 litres of V12 capacity and the strapping brace of superchargers; that was just £24,000, by comparison. Just imagine the impact this kind of car would have had in 1992. And the kind of person running it.
The most recent keeper of the Lister has spent a fortune on its upkeep; not quite £80,000 worth, sure, though enough to have it look and drive fantastically for whoever’s next. Work has included almost £15,000 spent with specialist Jag specialist Tom Lenthall, plus £5,000 spent on cosmetic bits including carpet and leather repair. Predictably, the price for making it yours is by application, though we'd assume it's going to be the priciest XJS out there by some margin. When we last wrote about a Le Mans-spec car, it was a cabrio (believed to be the only one) and for sale at £125,000. Given everything that’s happened to the XJS and to Jaguar in the three years since then, it’s hard to know exactly where values sit. Best dig deep to be sure, before even thinking about putting super unleaded in a twin supercharged V12. But what an exceptional way to travel...
Still extremely cool, though, and I bet it makes a truly awesome noise.
ETA: Having just watched that Harry Metcalfe video I now realise that he lives very close to me (we almost moved to the same village) which would explain the fancy cars I quite often see near there.
Still extremely cool, though, and I bet it makes a truly awesome noise.
https://youtu.be/091uTGCx6NI?si=3YN9kEIvIbowdCBP&a...
Utterly ruined by a disgustingly terrible bodykit and even worse wheels.
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