Vehicle Description
1956 Lister-Maserati
This incredibly important sports racing car is the famous
Lister-Maserati built by Brian Lister to contest the 2 litre sports
car class in 1956 and driven throughout by the renowned Archie
Scott-Brown.
In 1954 Brian Horace Lister produced the first of many sports cars
that would carry the family name. With an MG engine, tuned by Don
Moore, the car was appropriately enough known as the Lister-MG and
being the first true Lister it carried the chassis number BHL1. The
driver for the 54 season was Archie Scott-Brown, a friend of Lister
and an outstanding driver whose performances are all the more
remarkable in view of his disabilities (he effectively had only one
hand and suffered problems with both legs). This pairing of
Scott-Brown and Lister was to become one of Motorsports most famous
and successful partnerships and, in spite of a temporarily revoked
racing licence for Scott-Brown, showed considerable promise in 1954
and into 1955, when the car was uprated with a Bristol engine.
While this new engine was both powerful and reliable, its height
(at 29 inches) was a serious handicap, especially for a front
engine low-profile car.
In response to this problem, and in search of yet more power,
Lister acquired a new 2 Litre Maserati A6GCS engine for the 1956
season. To accommodate this unit, a completely new car was built up
although it retained the BHL1 chassis number and MER303
registration of its predecessor. The end result was a sleek and
purposeful racer standing just over 27 inches tall (to the top of
the scuttle) and with a much-reduced frontal area. The weight was
also down, helped in particular by adoption of Girling disc
brakes.
Scott-Brown was clearly impressed with the new car and eagerly set
off to Snetterton for testing. Unfortunately the Maserati engine
was not without its faults and problems with oil feed and the
camshafts took several weeks to rectify, which delayed its
competitive debut and it wasn't until the British Empire Trophy at
Oulton Park in April that the car was used in anger. The initial
result was somewhat disappointing with a 13th place but Scott-Brown
soon showed the car's real potential with a 4th in the Aintree 200
later in April and a class win at the Daily Express Silverstone
race in early May. Scott-Brown followed up this victory with
another at Snetterton and a 2nd at Brands Hatch. Unfortunately the
successful streak ended at Goodwood where the car retired with
mechanical failure in spite of Don Moore's best efforts, no doubt a
sign of the poor build quality of the unit as originally delivered.
A return to winning form was achieved at Aintree on 23rd June but
Silverstone saw another DNF a few weeks later. A subsequent visit
to Brands Hatch in August saw Scott-Brown secure another victory,
which he repeated at Oulton Park but mechanical niggles persisted
which prevented the car from running in the last Goodwood meeting
of the season. In summary the results for 1956 were rather mixed.
There had been some well-deserved victories but overall both Lister
and Scott-Brown were rather frustrated by the lack of reliability
in the engine and consequently the car was sold on to a Mr Ormsby
Issard-Davies who had Allan Moore campaign the car with some
success in 1957, including a 4th place at Goodwood.
After the 1957 season the car faded from view and eventually found
its way to the United States where it was restored and returned to
competition in historic events. The engine's earlier reliability
issues were almost certainly due to poor assembly and materials
rather an inherent design flaw and following a full professional
rebuild the car has recently performed as Brian Lister had
intended. It is currently fitted with a recently overhauled and
dyno-tested Crosthwaite and Gardiner 2 Litre Maserati engine but
importantly is accompanied by the original period engine as raced
by Archie Scott-Brown. With an impeccable competition history and
in race-ready condition this fabulous Lister offers an unrepeatable
opportunity to acquire a unique racing sports car with links to two
of Motorsport's true greats. Given its history it is eligible for
all the world's most prestigious events including the Monaco
Historics. Please contact us for further details. UNDER OFFER
Partial period competition history
14 April 1956
Oulton Park, British Empire Trophy
No. 38
Scott-Brown
13th
�
21 April 1956
Aintree 200
No. 71
Scott-Brown
4th
�
5th May 1956
Silverstone, Daily Express
No. 41
Scott-Brown
9th, 1st in class
�
19th May 1956
Snetterton
No. 43
Scott-Brown
1st
�
20th May 1956
Brands Hatch
No. 87
Scott-Brown
2nd
�
21st May 1956
Goodwood
No. 57
Scott-Brown
DNF
�
23rd June 1956
Aintree 100
No. 48
Scott-Brown
4th, 1st in class
�
14th July 1956
Silverstone GP
No. 31
Scott-Brown
DNF
�
6th August 1956
Brands Hatch
No. 45
Scott-Brown
Winner
�
18th August 1956
Oulton Park
No. 46
Scott-Brown
5th, 1st in class
�
8th September 1956
Goodwood
No. 14
Scott-Brown
DNS
�
6th April 1957
Oulton Park British Empire Trophy
No. 38
Allan Moore
4th
�
22nd April 1957
Goodwood
No. 93
Allan Moore
14th
