1970 Jaguar Lister Knobbly Evocation

The owner of a successful car spares and tuning business in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Eike Wellhausen has been a feature of many British racing circuits for over 50 years and is a well-known owner and racer of Lister Jaguar Knobblys. 

Mr Wellhausen owns a genuine car and has built (and raced) several Evocations over time.

This remarkably faithful and exceptionally well-built Evocation was completed by Eike Wellhausen in 1996 using a 1970 Jaguar E-Type that had been registered to John Gregson of Classic English Racing Automobiles/Proteus as a donor car (it is still registered as the donor car by the DVLA). 

Dual-purposed for track and road use (it has a handbrake), the car was purchased in 1999 by Richard Penney, whose commitment to making the car as authentic as possible led him to have the car rebodied in aluminium by the highly respected coachbuilder Michael Riley. 

The car is powered by a tuned 3.8 litre XK DOHC straight-six engine fed by triple Weber 45DCOE carburettors and features a faux 'dry sump' system and Dunlop alloy wheels.

The car is in very impressive all-round condition and has been used only sparingly since becoming a ‘Knobbly’. 

Lesser Evocations, particularly those with fibre-glass shells, can sometimes look and feel like the work of happy amateurs - people with more enthusiasm and energy than knowledge or expertise.

This absolutely, definitely, categorically isn’t one of them, and that’s an opinion that will be underlined and set in stone as soon as you fire up the engine and take to the open road.

Incorporating a multi-tubular chassis equipped with rack and pinion steering, all-round independent suspension and four-wheel disc brakes, this car has all the balance, poise and grip needed to make the most of the fabulous engine.

It is fast, responsive, flexible and hugely enjoyable to drive, not least because of the full-throated soundtrack delivered by the Weber carbs.

The skill and experience that went into the hand-built aluminium bodywork are immediately apparent.

The panels, panel gaps and door shuts are reassuringly crisp, consistent and even, and nothing wobbles, rattles or shakes.

Everything has a heft and solidity to it that speak to the quality of the craftsmanship on display and the amount of time and money invested in the car’s initial creation and ongoing curation.

The green and yellow paintwork really pops and dazzles in the sunshine, as you can see from the photograph gallery.

There is a shallow dink and some cracked paint on the nose of the car on the nearside of the air scoop, plus a few scuffs on the front valance.

There are a couple of scuffs and patches of missing paint under the nearside headlamp and one or two stone chips at the rear to the right of the number plate.

There is some cracked paint around the nearside filler cap and some paint has rubbed away on the edges of the bodywork where it faces the door closures.

The Dunlop wheels are in very fine fettle, as are the matching BF Goodrich radials.

The car’s lights, lenses, badging and other exterior fixtures and fittings are as impressive as the rest of it.

This is an impressively faithful recreation of a 1950’s racing car.

Ergo, there’s not much to see and there are no burr walnut veneers or lambswool over-rugs to write about. 

Nonetheless, everything inside is every bit as well-preserved and expertly curated as its exterior counterpart.

The beautifully spartan and purposeful aluminium interior looks just right.

The green seats are untroubled by any rips, tears or other signs of use or abuse.

The steering wheel, gear lever, handbrake and foot pedals are all in first-class condition, as are the buttons, knobs, levers, dials and switches. 

As far as we’re aware, everything does what it’s supposed to do.

Wholly unsurprisingly, the engine bay and engine are in clean, dry and shiny condition, and everything seems to be in its right and proper place. 

The undersides of the car appear to be entirely solid, sound and possessed of oodles of structural robustness. 

This car has covered fewer than 3000 miles since it became a Knobbly in 1996. 

It comes with a clear HPI report, a V5, some recent receipts, and a few old MoT certificates.

Whether you want a Knobbly Evocation for sunny afternoon drives out to your favourite pub or you’re planning on cutting a dash at ‘open class’ competition events, you’ll struggle to find a better one than this.

The car’s provenance is as good as it gets and it ticks all the necessary boxes in terms of quality, condition and performance.

We like it a great deal.

We’re confident to offer this fine car for auction with an estimate of £80,000 - £90,000. 

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at the Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.