The
large intakes at the front of the Lister scoop all the air for the engine
coolers, brakes, and engine intakes. Looking into the intake you
can see the front suspension. Andy Thorby adds some additional explanation
to the purpose of the unusual fender shape:
"The front fenders were 'prow' shaped for two reasons. Firstly to reduce the lift by encouraging the air to flow round the sides rather than over the top, and secondly to improve the efficiency of the dive planes. Dive planes are usually very efficient, but need the highest velocity flow possible. The air accelerating around the fenders is considerably faster than the speed of the car. The cooling intakes are right at the front because that is where the best flow is, because I wanted the maximum length over which to shape the radiator duct to optimize the cooling, and because I wanted to simplify the front brake ducting by using an upright-mounted scoop, like a single-seater"
The
Lister's upright and brake duct. Note the single-seater inspired
brake drum situated on the upright. Additionally notice the pullrod
operated suspension and the spring/dampner mounted on the bottom of the
tub. 
The
shaping of the trailing edge of the wheel well helps assist the high pressure
air to evacuate out the side of the car instead of moving to the underbody.
The large dive planes and the louvers over the front wheel arch are used
to balance the chassis' aero. load front to rear.
The
engine intake plenum box. The elimination of an intake scoop helped
reduce frontal area. Thorby explains that there is little gain in
horsepower from RAM effect when running a mandated intake restrictor so
any benefits from a scoop in the airflow are negated. The idea being
instead to reduce the car's frontal area with the elimination of the airbox.
The
Storm appeared in 2004 with a heavily revised engine induction system.
The roll-over hoop was combined with a proper airbox. Reports were
that the RAM induction airbox showed an immediate gain on the order of
50+ horsepower (for around 570 total).
By
Le Mans '04 the Lister ran a modified version of their new airbox necessitated
by the ACO tech inspectors. Regulations state that the highest point
of the car is the roll over hoop. With the combined airbox/roll over
hoop it could be argued that the airbox itself was the highest point on
the car. In order to comply with the regulations Lister made the
necessary changes to the airbox by reducing the height of it relative to
the roll over hoop.