RE: Driven: Lotus Carlton
Discussion
NotNormal said:
rhinochopig said:
Emissions, reliability, etc. or they simply don't need to. The last few years of WRC cars with 300bhp were faster than the lighter, much more powerful, group b cars.
I think that's more to do with suspension advances tbh in this instance.Anyway I'm bored debating something that is clearly axiomatic - The LC engine is not the pinnacle of engine design and has been bettered many times since.
It still amazes me and I own one!!!! The speed between 70-110 is jaw dropping!!
And if it impresses me now, then god knows what i would have thought of it 21 years earlier!!
It is a legend in it's own right. I still get people coming along side, with their mobiles!
Only last week in Hedge End, I parked to go shopping & came back to find 4 people sniffing over it, taking pics & while putting shopping in the boot, wanting to sit in it!
The car demands enormous respect - it's that good.
And if it impresses me now, then god knows what i would have thought of it 21 years earlier!!
It is a legend in it's own right. I still get people coming along side, with their mobiles!
Only last week in Hedge End, I parked to go shopping & came back to find 4 people sniffing over it, taking pics & while putting shopping in the boot, wanting to sit in it!
The car demands enormous respect - it's that good.
Welshbeef said:
Or it just goes to show you that todays RS6 5.2 V10 twin turbo isnt the machine it should be... it should have 681bhp.
With a remap and a different exhaust they easily make more power than this. So all it goes to show is that peak power is not the only thing manufacturers are looking for, as stated by others.Frik said:
Welshbeef said:
Or it just goes to show you that todays RS6 5.2 V10 twin turbo isnt the machine it should be... it should have 681bhp.
With a remap and a different exhaust they easily make more power than this. So all it goes to show is that peak power is not the only thing manufacturers are looking for, as stated by others.CO2000 said:
Indeed, would the Lotus have had a 3 year warranty when new ?
So a few have mentioned that an exhaust and remap see the rs6 produce far more than 570bhp. Um doesn't the LC remap pretty well itself with quite a few pushing well over 600bhp with same capacity.
Reading the comments it looks like you all think lotus were chasing the headline bhp figure but that's not how I recall it highlighted by it's incredible in gear
Standard LC's don't really nead remaps, they're blindingly quick out of the box. Makes me wonder why people harp on about newer cars, pushing out x bhp, needing remaps. Seems to me they are somehow inadequately powered and have to make up for it.
If you talk about cars of the same era, well, there wasn't much else that could touch the Carlton. If you want to compare it to modern metal, even now there isn't much but lets be honest, it is a bit unfair considering the LC did it all in 1990! The rest are simply playing catch up...
edited to correct the year.
If you talk about cars of the same era, well, there wasn't much else that could touch the Carlton. If you want to compare it to modern metal, even now there isn't much but lets be honest, it is a bit unfair considering the LC did it all in 1990! The rest are simply playing catch up...
edited to correct the year.
Edited by Oilchange on Saturday 21st May 23:02
OilChange,
Wasnt it 1990 when the LC was released, and then the hysteria broke out about 176MPH and MP's wanted the car banned!?
Not many car's make it to the House of Commons where they were protesting about a Family Saloon capable of over 170+.
I think where the LC stands out is where the car is iconic. Yes engine Technology has moved on (and you would expect it 20 years later), but the Vauxhall Heritage car still gets out and about.
The only way to fully understand and apprecaite the car is to have a go is one, even as a passenger.
Wasnt it 1990 when the LC was released, and then the hysteria broke out about 176MPH and MP's wanted the car banned!?
Not many car's make it to the House of Commons where they were protesting about a Family Saloon capable of over 170+.
I think where the LC stands out is where the car is iconic. Yes engine Technology has moved on (and you would expect it 20 years later), but the Vauxhall Heritage car still gets out and about.
The only way to fully understand and apprecaite the car is to have a go is one, even as a passenger.
LC810G said:
OilChange,
Wasnt it 1990 when the LC was released, and then the hysteria broke out about 176MPH and MP's wanted the car banned!?
Not many car's make it to the House of Commons where they were protesting about a Family Saloon capable of over 170+.
Yes, end of 1990 the press cars appeared in the magsWasnt it 1990 when the LC was released, and then the hysteria broke out about 176MPH and MP's wanted the car banned!?
Not many car's make it to the House of Commons where they were protesting about a Family Saloon capable of over 170+.
Always loved them ever since a mate who worked in R&D at Lotus at the time used to "test" them at weekends, a mate of mine still has a door mirror from the first one to get taken past it's limits! Oh & Imperial Green is the colour I chose for my Harley too,
Edited by shovelheadrob on Saturday 21st May 22:30
House of commons had no chance of ever banning a specific car.
There were plenty of cars at the time and older which could go much quicker top speed.
The Manufactures brought in the 155 mph limit themselves to self regulate rather than being told what to do.
I guess reality is for the uk no car needs to be able to breach 90mph so why not limit everything except police cars to that?the technology is there and I recall years ago the technology was there to stop cars breaching 30 in a 30 I'd say in danger zones black spots etc why not put in the auto limit that will absolutely stop all cars being able to overtake. I love my freedom but if a road is dangerous and there is no money to reengineer it then enforced speed limits are the quick cheap easy fix.
So solution buy older cars.
There were plenty of cars at the time and older which could go much quicker top speed.
The Manufactures brought in the 155 mph limit themselves to self regulate rather than being told what to do.
I guess reality is for the uk no car needs to be able to breach 90mph so why not limit everything except police cars to that?the technology is there and I recall years ago the technology was there to stop cars breaching 30 in a 30 I'd say in danger zones black spots etc why not put in the auto limit that will absolutely stop all cars being able to overtake. I love my freedom but if a road is dangerous and there is no money to reengineer it then enforced speed limits are the quick cheap easy fix.
So solution buy older cars.
Oilchange said:
Standard LC's don't really nead remaps, they're blindingly quick out of the box. Makes me wonder why people harp on about newer cars, pushing out x bhp, needing remaps. Seems to me they are somehow inadequately powered and have to make up for it.
Not really, we can safely assume that the internal standards that your most recent RS6 has to adhere to will be more thorough than the Lotus back in the day. What we don't know is what exactly those standards are and we can only really get anecdotal evidence on how reliable one engine would be compared to the other.Welshbeef said:
House of commons had no chance of ever banning a specific car.
There were plenty of cars at the time and older which could go much quicker top speed.
The Manufactures brought in the 155 mph limit themselves to self regulate rather than being told what to do.
But tell me how many cars at that time, got mentioned in the House of Commons? Or appeared on the 6 O'Clock News and Newspapers? And I dont recall many cars making coppers choke on their conflakes about a Mainstream car capable of over 100mph over the motorway speed limit!There were plenty of cars at the time and older which could go much quicker top speed.
The Manufactures brought in the 155 mph limit themselves to self regulate rather than being told what to do.
I think BMW and Mercedes agreed to "limit" their cars to 155mph - I think this was some kind of "Goodwill gesture agreement" between the Germans for their most powerful cars. So I do not think it was all manufacturers.
Even so, I do not drive my car over 100mph.......
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