Lotus Carlton

Lotus Carlton

Lotus Carlton Bones quiver just looking at the thing. The Lotus Carlton is the original supercar-slaying saloon. Between them, the 3.6 straight-six and two Garrett T25 turbos developed 377bhp and 419lb ft of torque, propelling the Lotus Carlton to 13 second standing quarter miles.

Lotus Carlton

Lotus Carlton In the final cog of its ex-Corvette six speed ‘box, the Hethel-tweaked taxi cab could nail 176mph. Only 320 badged as Vauxhalls were ever made. Today, values sway between £12k and £20k. There’s one for sale on the Piston Heads forum now.

Lotus Carlton

Running second overall to the Lotus Carlton as favourite Vauxhall of all-time was the Calibra, with its class-leading Cd figure of just 0.26. Based on the Lotus Carlton ’s chassis, the Calibra wowed buyers and media alike at the Frankfurt Show in 1989 with its swooping lines and four-seater capability.

Lotus Carlton

Lotus Carlton That said the car was not as scary as anticipated and flowed beautifully through a series of sweeping bends. With the huge amount of torque on offer it is an effective tool, powering between the turns and turning in neatly, with a huge amount of grip on offer.

Lotus Carlton

The Lotus Carlton is a supercar that should never have existed. The base model was dull to look at and lifeless to drive. So how did Lotus turn it into one of the most lusted after saloons of all time A new full stainless steel exhaust system was made recently by long life exhaust inc de-cat pipes, recent rear tyres also fitte.

Lotus Carlton

Lotus took 950 crisp, fresh Carltons from Opel's factory in Germany and set about giving them a makeover. Not in the Trinny and Suzanna sense; more in a way that a heavyweight boxer would prepare for a world championship fight.

Lotus Carlton

Inside, the Lotus Carlton retained the original (boring) dash, but acquired some chunky leather seats. It came with all the toys that were available in 1990, including a CD player and electric windows. Want sat-nav? You'll have to get a Tom Tom.

Lotus Carlton

The car Lotus Carlton feels totally planted on the motorway and it was undoubtedly developed with high-speed cruising in mind, but I thought I would see how it faired on twisty back roads. The Lotus Carlton doesn’t have the kind of driver aids we take for granted today and the combination of rear-drive and 377bhp meant I wasn’t looking to explore the limits of adhesion.

Lotus Carlton

The Lotus Carlton was a technical tour de force for Vauxhall and garnered immense press respect for its power, performance and dynamics. Officially, the fastest four-door production car in the world when it was launched in 1989, the Lotus Carlton ’s twin-turbocharged, 377bhp engine powered the car from 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds and all the way to 176mph.

Lotus Carlton

Everyone was talking about the Lotus Carlton and it didn’t take long for the car to secure legendary status, while in the meantime Vauxhall was trying to focus attention on anything other than the car’s astonishing top speed.

Lotus Carlton

The legend began in the eighties when GM acquired Lotus Carlton and, hoping to up its image a bit, set about making a super saloon that would carry the Hethel badge.

Lotus Carlton

the car Lotus Carlton was stripped to a bare shell so that new  genuine Vauxhall full sills and rear arches could be welded in and a full inside and out respray in lotus Lotus Carlton green . A replica body kit was fitted and the rear arches were cut to shape, rear aerial removed and repositioned on roof.

Lotus Carlton

All the work was carried out by a main dealer garage, The car Lotus Carlton has near full service history , The last service was done 5 months ago which included plugs, leads, front and rear discs and pads ,fuel filter ,oil & filter ,antifreeze etc.

Lotus Carlton

The Lotus Carlton lived most of its life in the shadow of its big brother, the Senator. Its greatest moment came when Lotus Carlton (owned by General Motors at the time) developed an ultra-high performance version, the Lotus Carlton , powered by a turbocharged 3.6-litre engine.

Lotus Carlton

People of a certain age will remember the impact the Lotus Carlton had when it was launched to the public back in 1990. It was a four door saloon that was faster than the majority of the supercars of the period, and its performance was sufficient to create a bit of a stir with Daily Mail readers and get a mention in Parliament.

Lotus Carlton

Lotus Carlton So how does the car compare to modern kit 'The car is fast, even in today's bhp-crazed times. Once the turbos spool-up the surge of power is relentless in any gear and at any speed.