Description
This car is Lot 172 to be auctioned by Bonhams|Cars at Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris Sale on 6 February, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
Public Viewing:
Available Tuesday 4 February from 08:00 until 18:00 and Wednesday 5 February from 9 AM - 6 PM, at The Grand Palais Historique, Paris.
Lot 172
c. 1990-1991 Lister-Jaguar 'Knobbly' Centenary Sports-Racer
Registration no.
Chassis no. BHL 145
One of only four Lister-Jaguar 'Knobbly' Centenary Edition models made
Known ownership history
Professionally restored with no expense spared in 2010 (invoices available)
Present ownership since 2022
Regularly campaigned in Historic events
Offered as a racing car, without any registration document
In 1990, celebrating the centenary year of Geo. Lister & Sons Ltd, Brian Lister built just four special 'Centenary Edition' Lister-Jaguar 'Knobbly' cars, which may be considered as 'younger sisters' of the original batch of probably no more than 17 'Knobbly' cars constructed in 1958. Lister enthusiast and former owner of the company, Lawrence Pearce, encouraged Brian Lister to launch this project. Adding to their provenance, these 'Centenary' cars were hand-crafted by the original specialists and were built to the same exacting standards and quality that had so impressed Briggs Cunningham 32 years previously. These centenary-edition Lister-Jaguars were finalized and marketed by Lawrence Pearce in England. A copy of Lister's original press release is on file.
This particular example (which is incorrectly listed as 'BHL 149' in Doug Nye's book Powered by Jaguar) was completed with no expense spared by Lawrence Pearce for British racing personality John Lewis. David Clark subsequently raced the car at the Barcelona GP support event in the early 1990s. Lawrence Pearce recalled it as being "the car that got me back into racing", launching his highly successful Lister Storm racing programme. Subsequently Pearce sold the Knobbly to one of his established customers, who carefully maintained the car in Canada following its acquisition.
In August 2008 Bonhams sold 'BHL 145' at its Quail Lodge auction (Lot 343'), the purchaser being Mr Herb Wetanson of New York, USA. While in Mr Wetanson's care the Lister benefited from a no-expense-spared total restoration by The Vintage Connection Inc of Oklahoma City. The rebuild was carried out during 2010 and Vintage Connection's detailed invoices totalling in excess of $61, 000 are on file (close inspection recommended). Mr Wetanson sold the Lister to the current vendor in 2022, since when it has been regularly campaigned in Corinthian Vintage Auto Racing (CVAR) events, most recently in December 2024 (see CVAR logbook on file).
Please note that if this vehicle is sold to a French private buyer or an EU private individual the reduced rate of Import VAT at 5. 5% will be charged on the hammer price. The Import VAT will be invoiced to you by our custom broker who will also charge a clearance fee. If you buy as a Trader or Company however, the Finances Publiques will charge you directly (based on our customs broker clearance) and the French VAT Import Charges will not appear on your Bonhams invoice. Please note that if you purchase as an EU Company, you are required to pay the VAT in your registered country at the relevant rate. Import rates to other EU Countries may vary and an administration fee will be charged to prepare the necessary customs clearance. If you have any questions regarding customs clearance, please contact the Bonhams Motorcar Department or our recommended shippers.
All lots are sold 'as is/ where is' and Bidders must satisfy themselves as to the provenance, condition, age, completeness and originality prior to bidding. Visit the Bonhams|Cars website for all pertinent auction information.
