Lister wants to be the AMG of Jaguar, and this is its new £140k supercar

This is the Lister Thunder. It’s the new supercar from the people who brought us the utterly nuts Storm in the 1990s, which wasn’t far short of a Le Mans car for the road.

This, though, is a tuned Jaguar F-Type. We’ll forgive you a little disappointment. Lister’s history lies in faster, racier Jags, mind, its Knobbly racecar having D-Type roots.

This Thunder not only has a name that riffs off the Storm, but more power than its ‘90s forebear, too. The F-Type’s supercharged 5.0-litre V8 has been wound up to a symbolically evil 666bhp – a near-100bhp hike on the most powerful production F-Type – propelling the Thunder from 0-62mph in around three seconds, 0-100mph in 6.8secs and onto a 208mph top speed.

Lister hasn’t confirmed whether the Thunder is rear- or all-wheel drive, but given all V8 F-types now drive both axles, we’d assume the latter. Especially to provide the traction needed for those supercar-like acceleration times.

“The full specification for the Lister Thunder will remain secret until its reveal,” says Lister. We’ll see the Thunder in full at February’s Historic Motorsport International in London.

What we do know is that just 99 will be built, priced from £139,950. It’s nearly £30k more than an F-Type SVR, but you do get a new carbon bodykit, making more downforce than standard, and a choice of 36 colours of Nappa leather inside. Yikes. The exterior decals and colour highlights will match what you’ve picked inside.

You can option a carbon bonnet if you’re feeling friviluous, while existing F-Type owners who aren’t bothered about the extra power can order a retro-fit carbon bodykit from Lister for £19,950.

“Although we are not directly affiliated with Jaguar Land Rover, Lister has a Jaguar tuning heritage dating back 65 years,” says Lister boss Lawrence Whittaker.

“Like Brabus and AMG with Mercedes and Alpina with BMW, we are hoping to become synonymous once again with tuning Jaguar vehicles, giving customers new enhanced, bespoke performance and design alternatives to Jaguar’s acclaimed model programme.”

Um, doesn’t Jag’s own SVO department already do that? Anyway, like what you see here, or would you like Lister to be braver still?