Vehicle Description
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https://www.flickr.com/gp/149927902@N02/38zir2
Originally raced by Briggs Cunningham's infamous "Team
Cunningham"
Raced by Stirling Moss, Walt Hansgen, Briggs Cunningham, Ivor Bueb,
Bob Grossman
1959 SCCA C-modified national championship winner
Four 1st place finishes in 1959 while being piloted by Walt
Hansgen
Class win at the 2015 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance
Major restoration by Canepa to return to period-correct
condition
Engineered by Brian Lister, body developed by Frank Costin
In all of vintage racing, there is no more desirable or collectible
category of cars than the front-engine sports racers that ran in
international and SCCA competition from the mid 1950s into the
early 1960s. As a group, they embody the beautiful shapes,
wonderful sounds, and exhilarating performance that defines
historic racing.
During that era probably the most respected and successful
independent manufacturer was Lister of Cambridge, England. In the
early 50's, out of a personal love for racing, Brian Lister steered
his third-generation engineering and fabrication company into
building race cars. Beginning with MG and Bristol powered sports
cars the young team immediately made a mark on the European racing
scene. After a fire at Jaguar's Browns Lane Plant destroyed the
competition department in February 1957, Lister was there to pick
up the pieces and take advantage of the lack of competition. One
prototype was built, along with 12 production race cars with only
three of these being powered by a Jaguar engine. This Lister-Costin
Jaguar, the second of the 12 cars produced, is one of the rare
Jaguar-powered cars.
In 1957 Lister presented its first Jaguar-powered sports racer to
the world of racing which received a large amount of success due to
the capable hands of skilled driver, Archie Scott-Brown. British
Petroleum, Lister's sponsor, had been searching for some
large-displacement racing cars that would go up against Aston
Martin and the Ecurie Ecosse Jaguars, both sponsored by the Esso
Petroleum corporation. Lister's first batch of race cars went to
the legendary US-based Team Cunningham to both race alongside and
eventually replace their aging D-type Jaguars. American racer
Briggs Cunningham was undoubtedly one of the most important figures
in postwar sports car racing, leaving his profound mark on the
entire world of racing as a driver, team owner, and
constructor.
1959 would be the year that Brian Lister decided to restyle the
initial bodywork. While the original bodywork did its job well,
Brian left that it was leaving something on the table, especially
in straight-line speed. Famed aeronautical engineer Frank Costin
was hired to redesign the entire bodywork. Having designed bodywork
for the 50's era F1 cars (and influencing front-engine Grand Prix
cars for years to come), Costin was the perfect fit that designed
an effective, elegant, and timeless design.
Chassis BHL 123 is arguably one of the most historically important
and best-kept examples of the entire run of both the Costin and
Knobbly-Listers. Powered by a 3.8-liter Jaguar DOHC inline six that
produced an estimated 300hp, paired to a 4-speed manual
transmission, and 4-wheel independent suspension with 4-wheel disc
brakes, it was an advanced beast indeed. BHL 123 was first
purchased by Briggs Cunningham for his legendary racing team and
prepared by team chief mechanic Alfred Momo. Its inaugural race was
the 1959 12 Hours of Sebring, piloted by the legendary Sterling
Moss alongside ex-Jaguar works racer Ivor Bueb, with Russell Boss
brought on as a relief driver. With the Cunningham racer on the
starting grid in 2nd place, the team's optimism was high. While in
3rd place, Stirling Moss made a scheduled pit stop and keen to get
back into the race left before the fuel tank was full! After a
number of laps later, disaster struck. The Lister ran out of fuel
on the track. Stirling Moss made his way back to the pits to grab a
can of fuel, but was disqualified for hitching a ride on one of the
marshal's motorcycles. Had he not had outside help, he may have
gotten the fuel back to the car and finished the race!
Later in the 1959 racing season, Walt Hansgen took the Lister down
a far more successful path. Taking wins at the Virginia
International Raceway, Cumberland International Races,
Bridgehampton and Watkins Glen, along with another second place and
4th place finish. His fantastic 1959 racing season finishes allowed
him to clinch the 1959 SCCA C-modified national championship.
Briggs Cunningham also personally raced BHL 123, taking third place
at Thompson Raceway.
In 1961, the Costin-Lister was purchased by well-known eastern US
sports car dealer and racer, Bob Grossman. Grossman later sold the
car to Phil Forno, who raced the car with co-drivers Ed Crawford
and Dick Thompson. In the mid-1970s, it was campaigned by Tony
Crossingham. Later it was sold to William Symons, who then sold the
car in 1983 to Chris Drake. BHL 123 then returned to America where
Dean G. Watts purchased and restored the car, then traveling back
to the UK around 1990 after being purchased by Dan Margulies, who
registered the car with FIA Historic paperwork. The car had a few
more owners before returning to the US and joined the Silverman
collection in 2000. Around this time, The Vintage Connection in
Oklahoma City performed a restoration on BHL 123, which was later
refreshed in 2008 and 2009. While in Silverman's hands, the
Costin-Lister regularly challenged other competitive sports racing
cars, such as Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas, Jaguar D-Types, Maserati
300Ss and Aston Martins.
Bruce Canepa was familiar with this special Lister before the car
came to Canepa's facility, having raced the car at the 2013
Monterey Historic races. The Lister was in a class of its own, with
Bruce and the Costin leading the entire race after the first lap
with a 2.5-second lead.
Later in 2015, the new owner of BHL 123 was intent on entering the
2015 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the premiere Concours of the
world. The car was sent to Canepa to prep the car and make any
adjustments necessary which eventually transformed into an exacting
period-correction restoration. What spanned the next 4 months was a
complete study and heavy research of BHL 123 in period photographs
to bring the car to as close to being period-correct as possible.
Canepa is known for its fastidious attention to detail and this
Lister-Costin Jaguar is no exception, analyzing photographs and
video to ensure that the car was indiscernible from its period
photos.
The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is the premiere concours
consisting of the finest automobiles of the world, hosted on one of
the most beautiful pieces of California coastline. With the most
prestigious event comes the most intensive requirements, and Bruce
Canepa knew what needed to be done in order to make the Lister
perfect. After a heavy investigation of the Lister, comparing to
historical racing images and then back to the car's current
configuration, the race car slowly began to take shape. Special
car-specific features were returned to the car like the front NACA
duct, the reverse airfoil next to the driver, the correct roundel,
different stripes, headlight covers, its iconic Jaguar D-type
windscreen, Halibrand wheels, its signature clear plexiglass engine
cover, and a number of other items that were observed from the
photograph research. After receiving a concours-level detailing
that leaves nothing to chance, even cleaning and polishing the
areas you can't normally see, the car was ready for its Pebble
Beach ...for more information please contact the seller.