Numerous privateer racing drivers were minded to build their own car in the 1950s, with each experiencing varying degrees of luck on the track.

Brian Lister had the money and the engineering know-how, so his first racing car was built with the able assistance of Don Moore and Archie Scott-Brown.

The car was an incredible success, achieving strong podium finishes wherever it roamed.

The company’s success with MG- and Bristol-powered cars was such that Lister soon had the financial backing of BP and Shell, also securing a deal with Jaguar for the supply engines that thrust Lister into contention for the World Sports Car Championship.

The result was the Lister-Jaguar, which eventually developed into the now-legendary ‘Knobbly’, nicknamed for its curvaceous-but-rather bumpy bodywork.

Nothing performed like a Lister ‘Knobbly’, and nothing quite looked like one either.

Eventually, as often happened in the 1950s, a US-built engine was dropped into a British-built sports car.

The result...