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46-461: 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 (6,996 cc (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

92-620: A BMW V12 LMR at the same race in 2000, and, most infamously, the Mercedes-Benz CLR at Le Mans in 1999. The GT1 '98 was set up with higher downforce in the race than the previous two years, which reduced its maximum speed to 310 km/h (193 mph). However, in the 1998 Le Mans 24 Hours test days, the car hit 330 km/h (205 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight on a lower downforce setup. With Mercedes dominating FIA GT1 in 1998, all other entries including Porsche withdrew for

138-473: A broken rib, and still suffers from a reduced lung capacity on the left side. Even with this letdown, the team pushed on towards Le Mans with the Storm GTS. A new car had to be built by G-Force due to the timescales involved. Lees and Needell were joined by Anthony Reid . The car was able to improve on its disappointing start by finishing the race in 1996 , although it was classified in 19th place, 59 laps behind

184-608: 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 Chappell, did not perform well, failing to finish due to gearbox failure after 40 laps. In 1996, the team signed a sponsorship deal with football club Newcastle United and hired engineer Geoff Kingston. Changes included bodywork, brakes, and moving

230-530: 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 team's 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. Meanwhile, in British GT,

276-410: A maximum power output of 554 PS (407 kW; 546 hp) at 6,100 rpm and 790 N⋅m (582.7 lb⋅ft) of torque at 3,450 rpm with a compression of 10.5:1. The car weighed 1,664 kg (3,668.5 lb), accelerated from 0–97 km/h (60 mph) in 4.1 seconds, and a claimed a top speed of 335 km/h (208 mph). The Lister Storm GTS debuted at the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans as

322-490: A new inlet restrictor to try to slow them down relative to its on-track rivals. With these victories, Lister claimed the team's and driver's championships with chassis number SA9STRM1BYB053119 GTM002 . 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. David Warnock finished second overall in

368-786: A power output of about 600 PS (441 kW; 592 hp). In comparison, the 993 generation 911 GT2 , which was otherwise the company's highest-performance vehicle at the time, used an air-cooled engine with only two valves per cylinder. The 911 GT1 made its debut in the BPR Global GT Series (the FIA championship's predecessor) at the Brands Hatch 4 hours, where Hans-Joachim Stuck and Thierry Boutsen won comfortably, although they were racing as an invitational entry and were thus ineligible for points. They followed up by winning at Spa, and Ralf Kelleners and Emmanuel Collard triumphed for

414-402: A resemblance to traditional sports-prototypes than the previous two models. A new sequential gearbox was installed to reduce shift time. Engine control also moved to a TAG Electronic Systems TAG 3.8 ECU. As per the regulations, a street-legal version of the 911 GT1-98 was made but it is believed that only one variant was produced which was still sufficient to satisfy the new regulations. During

460-586: A rule change for the season outlawed cars of the Storm's ilk and thus the team did not enter. 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

506-490: The 1996 BPR Global GT Series at Brands Hatch, qualifying third overall. It sadly retired, this time with an engine issue, while still in that third position. 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

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552-406: The 993 GT2 into an EVO version and homologated it as a GT1 car, but it proved to be uncompetitive against the other cars its class. Despite using the 911 moniker, the car barely had anything in common with the existing 911 at the time, only sharing the front and rear headlamps with the production sports car. However, its frontal chassis is based on the 993-generation 911, while the rear subframe

598-514: The BMW V12 LMR . Following Champion's purchase of a 911 GT1 Evo for 1999, Gunnar Racing offered a custom race car to the team with intentions to race in 2000. The car, known as the Gunnar G-99, was a custom-built 911 GT1 with an open cockpit. The chassis was made from scratch yet remained nearly identical to the 911 GT1 mechanically, even using the bulk of the body parts. A large rollbar was put over

644-531: The 1998 FIA International GT season, the 911 GT1-98 struggled to match the pace of the Mercedes, which also was improved, with the main reason being down to the air-restrictor rules which were regarded as unfavourable to the turbocharged engine (the Mercedes had a naturally aspirated V8 engine). The Michelin tyres of the factory team and especially the Pirelli of the private Zakspeed team were also considered inferior to

690-649: The 1999 season. The GT1 class was cancelled, and the FIA GT Championship was contested with GT2 cars. Having won the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans, Porsche could have entered at Le Mans , but they opted not to try to defend their 1998 victory against the new entrants from other manufacturers. Champion Racing brought a 911 GT1 Evo to America to race in the American Le Mans Series , but was only allowed to do so as an LMP (Le Mans Prototype) class entry, where it proved uncompetitive against actual prototypes such as

736-518: The Bridgestone tyres of the Mercedes. At the 1998 Le Mans, however, it was a different story. The BMW V12 LM retired with wheel bearing trouble, and the Mercedes CLK-LM cars had oil pump troubles in the new V8 engines that replaced the former V12. The Toyota GT-One , which was considered to be the fastest car, also suffered gearbox reliability problems. The 911 GT1-98, despite being slower than

782-513: The FIA GT Championship, but failed to make it beyond seven laps in the race at Paul Ricard . Homologation Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 751955778 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:35:46 GMT Porsche 911 GT1 With

828-531: The Lister finishing 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, despite only entering half the races. In the 1999 British GT Championship , David Warnock won the GT2 category for Cirtek Motorsport in a Lister Storm GT. Going into 2000 , Lister was more upbeat about their possibilities. Chrysler - Oreca had officially left

874-529: The Silverstone Golden Jubilee Trophy race. An updated version of the car – featuring a longer nose design – won the overall 1999 British GT Championship driven by Jamie Campbell-Walter and Julian Bailey, winning seven races that season. The championship result was contentious, with a furore surrounding changes to the rear aerodynamics of the Storm GTL. Multiple protests were launched against

920-606: The Toyota or the Mercedes, fulfilled Porsche's slim hopes, taking both first and second place overall thanks to reliability, giving Porsche its record-breaking 16th overall win at Le Mans , more than any other manufacturer in history. At the Petit Le Mans race in Road Atlanta , the 911 GT1-98 of Yannick Dalmas made a spectacular backward flip and landed rear first before hitting the side barriers, similar to what would later happen to

966-562: 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. It did take one race win and one second place, both results at Donington Park , in the 1997 British GT Championship, however. 1998 saw the team again attempt Daytona, but again they suffered problems early on, and did not finish. Updates to the car meant that it failed scrutineering and

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1012-477: The all-new generation of the ( 996 ) Porsche 911 which would be unveiled in 1997. The revised car was known as the 911 GT1 Evo (or Evolution). The car had the same engine as the 1996 version, but its new aerodynamic elements allowed the 1997 version to be considerably faster than the 1996 version with improved acceleration, the top speed was still around 330 km/h (205 mph) on the La Sarthe Circuit (in

1058-424: The car by the rival Blue Coral Porsche team and the championship results remained provisional until after the season had ended. This was futile, and the Lister was victorious. Meanwhile, the Storm GT also won the GT2 category of the championship that same year. It became apparent that the GT1 rules were going to disappear and that Lister was very competitive in GT2, which was to become the leading class in 2000. Thus,

1104-435: The car with a near-identical GT1 roof, and briefly competed in 2003. The car would take a best finish of second in class twice before being retired due to lack of funding and due to the ban on SRP cars in favour of Daytona Prototypes . Regulations for the GT1 category stipulated that to be eligible, a total of 25 cars must be built for road use. Porsche developed two prototype cars, both fully road-legal versions . The first

1150-523: The championship using a Storm GT while Tiff Needell won the races at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone in the Cirtek (CSi branded) Lister. Returning as champions to FIA GT, Lister continued into 2001 with two factory cars. Although the Storm GT was very rapid and able to take four victories over the year, the team had to settle for third in the team's championship – beaten by Larbre Competition and Carsport Holland's Vipers. Jamie Campbell-Walter lead

1196-551: The championship with David Warnock and Mike Jordan at the wheel of a Storm GT, taking victory in no less than seven races. Lister also won the one and only ever race in the Interactive Sportscar Championship 2001 at Donington Park in the hands of James Pickford and David Warnock. A similar situation occurred in 2002 , with Lister managing three victories but only able to take second in the team's championship, again beaten by Larbre. The main challenge this season

1242-459: The championship, eliminating a challenge from a factory team. Thus, Lister would face competition only from privateers. With this, Lister proved its 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 . By round seven at the A1 Ring, the team was saddled with

1288-410: The charge, with Tom Coronel as teammate initially. Tom only did a part-season, however, and drivers Mike Jordan , Bobby Verdon-Roe and Richard Dean took it in turns to partner Campbell-Walter's championship efforts. The second car featured Julian Bailey alongside German businessman Nicolaus Springer. This was the last season Julian drove the Lister. In terms of the 2001 British GT season, Lister won

1334-407: The driver's championship. From a British GT point of view, the Storm GT was once again driven by David Warnock and Mike Jordan. This combination delivered 3 race wins and 4 podiums, finishing second in the championship. A great season, but the writing was on the wall for the Lister as the new Saleen S7-R proved to be the dominant vehicle in its first season. In 2003 , Lister was joined in FIA GT with

1380-558: The end of the GTL. For 1999 , the Storm reappeared, a reworked version of the earlier GTS. The car had lost the aerodynamic bodywork seen on the GTL, instead using a more stock front and rear ends. According to Malcolm Cracknell's book Taking the World by Storm , there was a shortage of new suitable GT machines at the time, so Lister was allowed to use the Storm despite road car production long since ceasing. The team announced they would participate in

1426-412: The engine 5 inches (13 cm) back to improve weight distribution, which put the driver next to the last three cylinders. The Hewland gearbox was relocated to the rear, replacing the 5-speed unit with a transverse 6-speed sequential . To further compensate for the heavy engine, they put the wide rear tires on the front, allowing them to stiffen up the front suspension while still getting compliance from

Lister Storm - Misplaced Pages Continue

1472-424: The existing car. This car was referred to as the Storm GTL and also used a carbon fibre structure and body panels. 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

1518-548: 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 was only able to gather enough points for 10th place in the team's 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

1564-418: The factory team at Zhuhai. The 1996 911 GT1 clocked at a top speed of exactly 330 km/h (205 mph) on the legendary Mulsanne Straight in the practice sessions of the 1996 Le Mans 24 Hours Race. Towards the end of the 1996 season, Porsche made revisions to the 911 GT1 in preparation for the 1997 season. The front end of the car was revised including new bodywork which featured headlamps that previewed

1610-461: The full FIA GT Championship season under the new GT2 class rules. After a poor start – retiring from fourth place in Monza and retiring from second place at Silverstone – 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 pole position and third place at Zolder , and finally, a second place at Donington , with

1656-536: The high price of the vehicle at £220,000, only four examples were produced before production of the road-going Storm ceased. For several years, the Storm was considered the fastest four-seat grand tourer on sale. The Storm featured carbon fibre bodywork over a carbon chassis. The doors and greenhouse were borrowed from the Volkswagen Corrado . Its design resulted in a drag coefficient of C d =0.35. The bored and stroked twenty-four-valve V12 engine generated

1702-472: The open cockpit to help protect the driver. A 3.6-litre flat-6, from a Porsche 911 GT3 , was used in place of the standard 911 GT1 unit. However, Champion would instead turn to buy a Lola B2K/10 , so the Gunnar G-99 was temporarily abandoned. The car would resurface in the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2002, yet would not be allowed to race until it had a roof again. Therefore, Gunnar Racing rebuilt

1748-586: The production model was finished in Arctic Silver or Fern White, but three cars were finished in unique colours: Polar Silver, Indian Red, and Pastel Yellow. A single car - the 911 GT1-98 Straßenversion - was built in 1998 to homologate the all-new racing version under the new FIA regulations. The engine had to be slightly de-tuned to meet European emissions laws , although its 400 kW (544 PS; 536 hp) at 7,000 rpm and 600 N⋅m (443 lb⋅ft) of torque at 4,250 rpm proved to be more than adequate;

1794-544: The race, the GT1 Evo attained a top speed of 326 km/h). At Le Mans the works cars led the race but did not last the full distance; a privately entered 1996 specification GT1 managed 5th overall and third in the GT1 class. For the 1998 season, Porsche developed an all-new car, the 911 GT1-98. Designed to match the also new Toyota GT-One and the Mercedes-Benz CLK LM , the 911 GT1-98 featured bodywork that bore more of

1840-603: The revival of international sportscar racing in the mid-1990s through the BPR Global GT Series (which then morphed into the FIA GT Championship ) Porsche expressed interest in returning to top-level sportscar racing and went about developing its competitor for the GT1 category. Cars in this category were previously heavily modified versions of road cars, such as the McLaren F1 and the Ferrari F40 . Porsche originally modified

1886-561: The thicker sidewalls . The team decided to give the updated Storm an early test for Le Mans by entering a lone car in the 24 Hours of Daytona , driven by ex-F1 drivers Geoff Lees, Tiff Needell , and Kenny Acheson . It failed to finish due to a high-speed crash while Acheson was behind the wheel. The car was destroyed and according to an interview in Octane in November 2020, Kenny suffered from temporary vision loss in his right eye, chest injuries,

Lister Storm - Misplaced Pages Continue

1932-532: 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 but retired while in third place. The car was then entered at the Suzuka 1000km with Christophe Bouchut this time joining Lees and Needell. It was running in third, before retiring thanks to gearbox troubles. The car once again proved its speed during round eight of

1978-554: Was delivered in early 1996 to the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building, and Urban Development for compliance testing, which it passed. The second prototype vehicle is in the hands of a Bahrain-based private car collector Khalid Abdul Rahim . These two cars feature 993 style front headlights . The production car - dubbed "911 GT1 Straßenversion " - was a run of approximately 20 units which were built in 1997 and featured 996 style front headlights. The majority of

2024-422: Was derived from the 962C Group C prototype along with its water-cooled , twin-turbocharged and intercooled , 4 valves per cylinder 3,164 cc (3.2 L) flat-six engine fuel fed by Bosch Motronic 5.2 fuel injection , which was longitudinally-mounted in a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout , compared to the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout of a conventional 911. The engine generated

2070-736: Was not allowed to take part in the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans despite the team entering the event and turning up to pre-qualify. One bone of contention was the lack of a rear window in the refreshed design. Also in 1998, the Lister Storm GTL finished fifth overall in the British GT Championship in the hands of Tiff Needell and Julian Bailey (with Anthony Reid subbing for Tiff at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps round). There were three Storm GTLs entered this season and between them they achieved two victories and seven podiums including winning

2116-451: Was relying on a Pro-Am driver strategy across the two cars, as opposed to a Pro-Pro driver line-up by most other teams. The cars were shared by Jamie Campbell-Walter alongside German businessman Nicolaus Springer in car 14 and Bobby Verdon-Roe and British businessman Paul Knapfield in car 15. At times, the amateur drivers would lose one minute to the leaders during their stints. Despite this, Campbell-Walter and Springer finished third overall in

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