The Lister Motor Company was founded by Brian Lister in 1954 in Cambridge, England. The company started by producing sports cars with a tubular ladder chassis, de Dion rear axle, and inboard drum brakes. The first Lister sports car used a tuned MG engine and stock gearbox, but later Lister swapped in a Bristol two-litre engine and knockoff wire wheels to improve performance. Lister then moved up to a six-cylinder motor from a Formula 2 Maserati A6GCS, while customers continued to receive the Bristol motor. In 1957, Lister redesigned the car around a 3.4 litre Jaguar D-type XK inline-six, with an aerodynamic aluminum body. The Lister-Jaguar entered international competitions and became known as the "Lister Knobbly" cars. In 1959, Lister hired aerodynamicist Frank Costin, who produced entirely new bodywork built around a new Chevrolet Corvette power plant. Lister later prepared the Sunbeam Tiger for the prototype category of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1963, but the cars suffered engine failures and the project led to the demise of Lister's tuning work.