The Lister Storm was a homologated GT racing car manufactured by British low volume automobile manufacturer Lister Cars with production beginning in 1993. The Storm used the largest V12 engine fitted to a production road car since World War II, a 7.0 L Jaguar unit based on the one used in the Jaguar XJR-9 that competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Due to the high price of the vehicle at £220,000, only four examples were produced before production of the road-going Storm ceased. Only three Storms survive today, although the company continues to maintain racing models. The Storm was the fastest four-seat grand tourer during the 1990s and early 2000s.
The bored and stroked two-valve V12 engine generated a maximum power output of 546 hp; 553 PS (407 kW) at 6,100rpm and 790 N⋅m (582.7 lb⋅ft) of torque at 3,450rpm. The car weighed 1,664 kg (3,668.5 lb), and was capable of accelerating from 0–97 km/h (60 mph) in 4.1 seconds.
The Lister Storm GTS debuted at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans as a competitor in the GT1 class, going up against cars such as the McLaren F1 GTR, Ferrari F40 LM, Jaguar XJ220S, and the Porsche 911 GT2. The car, driven by Geoff Lees, Rupert Keegan, and Dominic Chapell, did not perform well, failing to finish due to gearbox failure after 40 laps.
In 1996, the team decided to give the Storm an early test for Le Mans by entering a lone Storm in the 24 Hours of Daytona but failed to finish. Even with this letdown, the team pushed on towards Le Mans with the Storm GTS. The car was able to improve on its disappointing start by finishing the race in 1996, although the car finished in 19th place, 59 laps behind the winner. Lister decided after Le Mans that they would enter the Storm GTS into the BPR Global GT Series, debuting in the fifth round at the Nürburgring. The car was then entered at the Suzuka 1000km. Every race that the Storm GTS entered for the rest of the season failed to result in a finish.
For 1997, Lister realized that the Storm GTS was too slow in comparison to some of the newer GT1 class competitors, such as the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR and Porsche 911 GT1. The Storm was therefore redesigned, with a longer and more aerodynamic front end added to the existing car. This car was referred to as the Storm GTL. The car debuted at the 24 Hours of Daytona, where it managed to take 19th place overall and fourth in its class. Later that year, for Le Mans, two new Storm GTLs were entered, but neither of them was able to finish, with both cars out of the race by lap 77. Later in the year, a Storm GTL would travel to the United States to participate in the final two rounds of the FIA GT Championship at Sebring and Laguna Seca. The car failed to finish both races.
1998 saw the team again attempt Daytona, but again they suffered problems early on, and did not finish. With these difficulties, the team was not selected for entry in that year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the team did not compete anymore that year, the team instead concentrating on redesigning the Storm.
For 1999, the Storm reappeared. The car had lost the aerodynamic bodywork seen on the GTL, instead using a more stock front end. The team announced they would participate in the full FIA GT Championship season under the new GT2 class rules. After a poor start, the team managed to take fourth place at Hockenheimring, a mere two laps behind the winning pair of Chrysler Viper GTS-Rs. This was followed by a third place at Zolder, and finally, a second place at Donington, with the Lister finishing a mere 26 seconds behind the winning Viper. These successes brought Lister into a tie for fifth place overall in the teams championship at the season's end.
Going into 2000, Lister was more upbeat about their possibilities. Chrysler-Oreca had officially left the championship, eliminating a challenge from a factory team. Thus, Lister would face competition only from privateers. With this, Lister proved their capabilities by winning the first race of the season at Valencia. Lister would follow this up with four more wins during the season, all claimed by drivers Julian Bailey and Jamie Campbell-Walter. With these victories, Lister claimed the teams championship. At the same time, Lister competed in the British GT championship both as a factory team, as well as with a customer car for Cirtek Motorsport. The two teams were able to take nine victories.
Returning as champions to FIA GT, Lister continued into 2001 with two factory cars. Although Lister was able to take four victories over the year, the team had to settle for third in the teams championship, being beaten by Larbre Competition and Carsport Holland's privateer Vipers. A similar situation occurred in 2002, with Lister managing three victories but only able to take second in the teams championship, again beaten by Larbre.
In 2003, Lister was joined in FIA GT with a customer Storm, run by Creation Autosportif. The Lister factory team managed only a single win, yet were still able to take second place in the teams championship. Creation was not far behind, with a fourth-place finish in the championship, after gaining a second customer Storm. At the same time, Lister began work on a new project, the Storm LMP which would bring the marque back to Le Mans. This was, therefore, the beginning of the decline of the Storm GT.
For 2004, Creation Autosportif would take over as the main competitor in FIA GT, with the factory squad appearing only at selected races. Creation managed to take only eighth in the teams championship after the team decided to move to Le Mans Prototypes as well, while the factory squad was only able to score a single point all season. Lister would continue to attempt to campaign the car into 2005, but were only able to gather enough points for 10th place in the teams championship. Following 2005, the factory officially retired the cars to concentrate on the Storm LMP.
In 2006, French squad Red Racing would purchase a Storm for the FFSA GT Championship. The team would make one attempt at the FIA GT Championship, but failed to make it beyond seven laps in the race at Paul Ricard. As of 2007, there were no Storms racing.
Complete article available at this page.
