by Big Arv
The Lister Jaguars
Hi-Dee-Hi there friends and neighbors! Seems I've been off doing things and let a month (or two) get by me. I already had a few specific cars that I'd designated for scrutiny, and was in the works on several of these, when the 1999 Mainline Cars site on the Hot Wheels Homepage popped up. Of course, being a devout sports car fah-reak, I am more than pleased with the selection of cars coming up. It looks like a great balance of GT cars, rods, concepts, customs, and ... uh, duds.
Anyway, I couldn't help but notice a car in the line-up that fits the bill of "Car that Mattel couldn't get the rights to do, and instead designed a car VERY similar to it, and called it something else". Or something. Last year it was the Cat-a-Pult. This year, it's the TURBOLENCE!
This 1999 First Edition looks to be really sweet. Classic long hood, flowing lines, and retro-aero styling look like they've been pulled straight from the 1957-58 Lister Jaguars. These marvelous cars were quite successful in the sports car circuits of that era, chalking up many victories in the able hands of none other than Jimmy Clark and Sterling Moss, to name just two.
Designed and built by Brian Lister, who himself started racing in a Morgan 4/4 in 1948, the Lister marquee began life in 1953 with somewhat skeptical backing from the family wrought-iron factory his father owned. Given six months to show progress, the initial designs carried an MG XPAG-Series 4 cylinder engine. Throughout it's life, the evolving one-of-a-kind creations would carry primarily Jaguar 6 cylinder motors, some Chevrolet V-8's, and a few other odd power plants.
Sprayed a bright green, not the traditional British Racing Green, and adorned with a yellow center stripe, the car found success on the racetracks of the world. The turning point came at Spa in 1958. The Lister team, with Brian's longtime friend and colleague William Archibald Scott-Brown driving, had a wonderful battle going on with the Ecurie Ecosse (you Jag-o-philes know that name well) car of Masten Gregory. During the race, Archie crashed and lost his life.
Brian nearly withdrew from racing altogether, having lost his friend, and the only real works driver the team had ever had. A number of drivers were contacted, but most had obligations. Sterling Moss, a true hero of the British racing psyche, WAS available, and along with Bruce Halford carried on with the Lister, chalking up many more wins.
So look for yourself. IS the Turbolence the motor-enhanced, smoothed out version of the Lister-Jag? Or is it just some concept land-speed record car? Or is it JUST a fluke, a design so timeless that it resurfaces from the very well of shared imagination that automotive enthusiasts carry, forever perpetuating itself in the designs of our cars, in our quest for speed and grace? Or something.
Post Script: Right, whatever. I should be back on track shortly to catch up on a few missing months worth of car tidbits. In the mean time, email Mattel and the makers of the yet to be finished Hot Wheels Playstation game, and give them your input on what you want to see in a car game. The same goes for what kind of actual cars you want to see produced. From the looks of the '98 and '99 line-ups, the designers are paying attention to what we want. Ferrari 250 GTO please!
