Wednesday 31st January 2018

Lister Thunder rumbles into view

What would an F-Type SVR be like with another 100hp? Lister is letting 99 people find out

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Lister has made something of a name for itself (again) in recent years: having wowed international sportscar racing with the Storm in the 1990s, the recreation of its legendary 'Knobbly' models has received plenty of positive attention since the 2013 announcement. And why wouldn't it?

Today marks Lister's entry into the supercar mainstream - all things being relative - with this, the Thunder. Set to be revealed at the Historic Motorsport International in London next month, additional details for the Thunder have now been released. We knew about the 675hp, 208mph and 99-car production run from a confirmation late last year, but now we have a 0-100mph time - just 6.8 seconds - as well as price, which is arguably just as important: £139,950.

Given what was expected of the Thunder, that doesn't look unreasonable. Sure, it's nearly £30k more than the SVR on which it's based, but given Lister values the carbon bodykit at £19,950 (which is available now for all other F-Types), plus another £10k for the power, and the exclusivity appears realistic.

It means the Lister Thunder is similarly priced to an AMG GT C Edition 50, McLaren 540C and Audi R8 V10 Plus (in fact it's cheaper than the Audi), which will likely come as a surprise to those expecting a £250k F-Type. And none of those comes within 100hp of the Lister...

Lister says its cosmetic modifications "have been produced to standards that match or exceed original equipment", and include that bodykit - comprised of a carbon bumper with downforce-improving splitter and carbon rear bumper (plus a carbon bonnet as an option) - exhaust tips made of you-know-what, plus decals, badges and vents unique to this car. The interior will be trimmed in Bridge of Weir Nappa leather, available in 36 colours; the chosen stitching will also be accented outside with the BRM-esque grille surround and brake calipers. Nice.

Lister sees the Thunder as the first car in its "revised Jaguar tuning programme", according to CEO Lawrence Whittaker. He sees the brand as becoming like Brabus or Alpina, offering customers "new, enhanced bespoke performance and design alternatives". Who's for a 675hp XJ?

Full details of just what's been done to deliver the Thunder's output will be revealed at Excel on February 15th, where potential customers will get their first look at the car too. More to follow as soon as we have it...

[DB77]

Interesting that Lister have chosen to focus on cosmetic changes and an increase in power - nothing at all about improvements to handling. I think it say a lot either about the standard car (which I haven't driven) or the intended customers.