Crouching Tiger - Lister-Jaguar XJS Le Mans

The words Lister, Jaguar and Le Mans go way, way back and together form one formidable force in endurance racing. Fast forward to the late 1980s and the bond is still alive and kicking, though in this case churning out road cars.

Crouching Tiger - Lister-Jaguar XJS Le Mans

The words Lister, Jaguar and Le Mans go way, way back and together form one formidable force in endurance racing. Fast forward to the late 1980s and the bond is still alive and kicking, though in this case churning out road cars. First came the 6.0 Mk III XJS conversion package, but the crème de la crème came three years later in 1986, in the shape of what you are currently admiring; the Lister 7.0.

Crouching Tiger - Lister-Jaguar XJS Le Mans

Based on a regular old XJS, the engine started life as the 295 HP 5.3 Jaguar V12, there was a lot of life trapped in the understressed heart. BLE Automotive and WP Automotive joined forces with Lister to tackle the mammoth task. An extra four throttle bodies and injectors were enlisted to pump the high-octane blood around the motor alongside larger valves to help the engine drink. A new, stronger crankshaft was added alongside Cosworth heavy duty conrods. The major help in reaching the final power output came in the shape of a pair of superchargers (cough V600 Vantage cough) and an extended piston stroke (presumably) to get the final displacement up to 7 litres. In the end, the colossal engine was churning out 604HP, over twice what it produced out of the box in 1990.

Crouching Tiger - Lister-Jaguar XJS Le Mans

As you’d expect, this astronomical output made the big cat soar. No official figures are known, though reports state that the vehicle was capable of over 200MPH. Today, cars fail to reach that, so imagine the reaction to that in the 1980s. A six-speed manual transmission was tasked with sending the power to the wheels (an all new unit, V12 XJSs could only be had with autos), which were wrapped in suitably wider-than-standard tyres and sheltered by a set of noticeably flared wheel arches. None of this sacrificing comfort, mind.

Crouching Tiger - Lister-Jaguar XJS Le Mans

The conversion would set you back £77,000 back when it was offered, so not exactly cheap (especially combined with the price of buying the base car itself), though quite likely one of the least expensive ways to lay your hands on a 600HP car, so maybe not too bad of a deal after all. Whilst the Lister monster doesn’t have the timeless, sleek design of the regular old XJS, it’s ferocious and angry which makes it cool in a different way. It has quad exhausts and a wing, for goodness sake; who’s going to say no to that?

Crouching Tiger - Lister-Jaguar XJS Le Mans

F-Type not your kind of style? This is the car for you. (Note: Private fuel station was not included in the £77,000 price)

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Comments

P1eased0nteatme

Enter your comment…

05/08/2017 - 12:35 |
4 | 2

No thx

05/09/2017 - 16:33 |
0 | 0
Forza Napoli

Looks amazing!

05/08/2017 - 16:48 |
4 | 2

Sure does!

05/08/2017 - 22:18 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

Great blog as usual!

05/08/2017 - 18:20 |
4 | 2
P1eased0nteatme

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Haha, thanks! :)

05/08/2017 - 22:18 |
2 | 0
momo (LGBTQ) (bisexual)

Hey, great blog, I saw one of these on Saturday funnily enough!

05/08/2017 - 19:56 |
4 | 2

Thanks! I don’t recall ever seeing an XJS, probably have once or twice and it’s just slipped under the radar.

05/08/2017 - 22:19 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Those wheels. Wow.

05/08/2017 - 20:12 |
4 | 2
P1eased0nteatme

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

They’re amazing.

05/08/2017 - 22:19 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

I disagree

05/08/2017 - 21:58 |
4 | 0
P1eased0nteatme

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Looks like a Daimler, can’t think of what it is though…

05/08/2017 - 22:00 |
8 | 2
Hoon the Galaxy

Let us not forget this creation by Koenig

05/08/2017 - 22:09 |
4 | 2

Not such a huge fan of it, a bit too vulgar imo. Their styling works on some things, but the XJ doesn’t do it for me :/

05/08/2017 - 22:12 |
2 | 0
P1eased0nteatme

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

That advert looks a little inaccurate, but that ezanple is stunning’ Thanks :)

05/09/2017 - 11:50 |
2 | 2