Within 24 hours of the Lister Motor Company’s announcement that it will be producing the new 666 bhp Lister Thunder, the all-British specialist sports car maker received more than £3.1 million or $5.4 million Canadian worth of orders. 22 of the 99 limited-production Thunders are already sold at £139,950 or the equivalent of $245,000 Canadian. The Thunder is already the fastest-selling new Lister model in the Cambridgeshire Company’s 65-year history. The Thunder will make its world public debut at the 2018 Historic Motorsport International at ExCel, London, on February 15.

“I am delighted, overwhelmed and gratified by the huge level of interest and excitement the Thunder has already generated,” said Lawrence Whittaker, CEO of the Lister Motor Company. “Following the release of the Thunder prototype, the number of phone calls and email enquiries have been bonkers! Securing over £3 million-worth of orders within the first 24 hours is a Company record, and I am now even more thrilled to be revealing the Thunder to the world at ExCel on Thursday 15th February, as the car looks even better in the metal, carbon fibre and Nappa leather than it does in the photographs! I’d like to thank Tiff Needell for his epic work on the launch video. As a former Lister racing driver and having watched him on Top Gear and 5th Gear throughout my life, working with him was a dream come true.”

Lister is Britain’s oldest surviving racing car company and was named the fastest-growing company in the UK’s competitive motor industry business sector in 2017 by leading independent financial analysis specialists, Plimsoll. In 2013 the Lister Motor Company was acquired by father and son team Andrew and Lawrence Whitaker. 2013 marked 60 years since the first Lister racing car, and to celebrate this landmark, the Whitaker’s first major venture was to announce ten Lister Jaguar Knobbly continuation cars.