Lister Stealth | Spotted

Why buy a DBX707 when you could have this for half the price?

I fear an angry mob may appear outside my window the moment this Spotted appears on the PH homepage. But given that you gave Matt a pass when he brought an F-Pace SVR to your attention last year, I thought I’d take the plunge and present to you the SVR’s rarer, angrier and vastly more powerful stepbrother - the paradoxically named Lister Stealth.

Look, I get it, performance SUVs don’t make a lot of sense in most cases. Admittedly, there is something appealing about the hilarious contradiction that is the Cayenne Turbo GT, which captures a degree of the Porsche GT magic in spite of its 2.2-tonne kerb weight. And though I’ve yet to drive the Aston Martin DBX707, it received glowing reports from both Matt and John. I can’t be the only one that has a guilty pleasure (promise it’s a small one) for SUVs with stupidly big, powerful engines that don’t take themselves too seriously. It's something the F-Pace SVR did brilliantly, and perfected with the Lister Stealth.

At the time of launch in 2020, the Lister Stealth was comfortably Britain’s fastest SUV. Taking the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 from the SVR as a basis, Lister threw in a host of upgrades including a new, in-house-designed intercooler, revised supercharger pulleys and an upgraded air filter. Lister’s own engine management tune ensured all the upgrades were talking to each other, upping the output to 675hp (or a devilish 666bhp) and 650lb ft of torque, which, according to Lister, represents a 22 per cent increase over the SVR. A 0-60mph dash takes a mere 3.6-seconds, nauseating your family in the process, and it'll charge on to a top speed of 195mph. True, the competition has caught up since then, but few can dispatch a school run quicker than this.

Naturally, it gains an extra dose of boisterousness over the SVR. A new carbon fibre front end adds chunky, slatted brake cooling ducts, a deeper splitter, and swaps the Jaguar logo for the Lister emblem. The company’s signature green lip around the grille was an optional extra, though this example goes for the more subtle (cough) approach with gloss black trim. The SVR’s plasticy cladding was ditched for body-coloured wheel arch extensions, while the back end benefited from an aggressive carbon fibre diffuser. Obviously I’m no aerodynamicist, so I can’t comment on whether it’s functional on a car that sits so far off the ground, but it does make the Stealth look mighty intimidating.

I’m well aware that the Stealth isn’t for everyone, though it isn’t intended to be. Lister only produced 100 examples, so the chance of seeing one in the wild is highly unlikely. The same can be said for various high-end tuners, but I’m quite fond of the work Lister is doing at the moment. A big cat with a ludicrous amount of power just feels right, especially when it’s wrapped up in a beefy – yet surprisingly un-garish – package. Brabus, take note.

What’s also surprising is how relatively affordable the Stealth is. These were £110,000 cars when new, just over two years ago, and they don’t seem to be affected by the crippling depreciation that afflicts most Jags. This one comes in at £99,500, or about half the price of an Aston Martin DBX707 or Lamborghini Urus S. Though the former is tempting, I’d rather put half of my £200,000 towards this and spend the other half on a ‘proper’ driver’s car. Turns out you can have your cake and eat it.

SPECIFICATION | LISTER STEALTH

Engine: 5,000cc, V8, supercharged
Transmission: eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 675@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 650@N/A
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Year registered: 2020
Recorded mileage: 60,387
Price new: £109,950
Yours for: £99,500.