RE: Lotus Carlton: Spotted
Discussion
I own the only Lotus Carlton on mainland Asia, the two made for Singapore went back in the UK, there is a UK car in Singapore, but it is off the road, and rusting away, with Sing laws it is gone getting back on the road.
My car had been abused wrong colour, wrong seats, but mechanically good, with the next car being 3 hours flight away in Aus, I'm not exactly well supported locally, but I've returned the car to original spec, with some mods to cooling, all spares are available, I've managed to source everything, even original seats from a Lotus Omega scrapped in Germany. In the UK keeping one running can not be an issue
Lotus know nothing about them today, main dealers don't hold spare, Lotus were owned by Proton when I bought my car, and I know a lot of senior people in Proton, they tried help source parts, but couldn't do much, they offered me some parts but they were actually buying them back from the people they bulk sold to years before. Specialist, Ebay and autobahnstormers and you can find anything.
They are great cars, mine turns heads, I'm amazed how many people know what it is, and the interest in it.
You need to do your research on parts, lots of GM bit's from USA,
Mine keeps up with the traffic and I've seen 165 mpg on a GPS speedo, without pushing to the limit.
My car had been abused wrong colour, wrong seats, but mechanically good, with the next car being 3 hours flight away in Aus, I'm not exactly well supported locally, but I've returned the car to original spec, with some mods to cooling, all spares are available, I've managed to source everything, even original seats from a Lotus Omega scrapped in Germany. In the UK keeping one running can not be an issue
Lotus know nothing about them today, main dealers don't hold spare, Lotus were owned by Proton when I bought my car, and I know a lot of senior people in Proton, they tried help source parts, but couldn't do much, they offered me some parts but they were actually buying them back from the people they bulk sold to years before. Specialist, Ebay and autobahnstormers and you can find anything.
They are great cars, mine turns heads, I'm amazed how many people know what it is, and the interest in it.
You need to do your research on parts, lots of GM bit's from USA,
Mine keeps up with the traffic and I've seen 165 mpg on a GPS speedo, without pushing to the limit.
One of my all-time dream cars, and most definitely worth the price tag.
This is car is an iconic moment in automotive history - a true lunatic of a machine released when most cars struggled to easily hit 100mph.
It was quicker than most super cars, and I think it looks utterly fabulous.
Didn't some of the Omega models come in silver?
This is car is an iconic moment in automotive history - a true lunatic of a machine released when most cars struggled to easily hit 100mph.
It was quicker than most super cars, and I think it looks utterly fabulous.
Didn't some of the Omega models come in silver?
GTDNB said:
I see one of these on a fairly regular basis around the Bromley area. Those headlights and grille always catch my eye from a distance. It a
always seems to be going the other way so i haven't had an opportunity to 'follow' it!
Probably the one that I drive past virtually everyday through Leaves Green/Biggin Hill going out towards Westerham.always seems to be going the other way so i haven't had an opportunity to 'follow' it!
I did a check on it and its got 177,000 miles on it and from the last couple of years looks to have been used pretty much everyday. On a P plate.
This price must be a joke or typo or something right? Seen it up for about a year now
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...
Never understood why these caused such a commotion back then for their top speed. Bloody lefties.
As stated, these were ferociously expensive back then. Probably about, if not more than, the price of a 3-bed semi in many parts of UK and the Bank of England interest rate was around 13.5%, so a cheap loan, like we're used to today, was out of the question.
As stated, these were ferociously expensive back then. Probably about, if not more than, the price of a 3-bed semi in many parts of UK and the Bank of England interest rate was around 13.5%, so a cheap loan, like we're used to today, was out of the question.
J4CKO said:
With a lot of the stuff that gets presented, we tend to scoff at the price but with this, 50 grand doesnt seem that daft, it was an utter thug of a car, and it pulled off being quite upmarket despite being a Vauxhall, the premium brands werent so established across the market like they are now and a Carlton was still quite a posh car so a super fast one with a big bodykit didnt seem such a stretch. They tended to be owned by company directors, probably the last time people like that bought a vauxhall.
The fact it looked so different to a normal Carlton helped, as did the headlines and performance figures, it is still pretty rapid today but there was nothing to touch it back then short of Ferrari's, High end Porsches and Lambos, getting on for double the power of a Sierra Cosworth is what astounded me back then.
380 bhp is hot hatch territory now, but this might be a bit more challenging to drive quickly, no electronics whatsoever and a big boosty straight six driving the rear wheels only.
Some might not get it nowadays, its a Vauxhall, doesnt win Top Trumps any more but the problem is, your opinions of things tends to be created at the time you first encounter something, I personally cant get past the frisson of excitement when I see one, same as back in the nineties, just looks so right, so mean and moody, so cool.
Absolutely spot on.....................The fact it looked so different to a normal Carlton helped, as did the headlines and performance figures, it is still pretty rapid today but there was nothing to touch it back then short of Ferrari's, High end Porsches and Lambos, getting on for double the power of a Sierra Cosworth is what astounded me back then.
380 bhp is hot hatch territory now, but this might be a bit more challenging to drive quickly, no electronics whatsoever and a big boosty straight six driving the rear wheels only.
Some might not get it nowadays, its a Vauxhall, doesnt win Top Trumps any more but the problem is, your opinions of things tends to be created at the time you first encounter something, I personally cant get past the frisson of excitement when I see one, same as back in the nineties, just looks so right, so mean and moody, so cool.
I have never commented before but compelled to do so as these cars hold a very special place in my heart! Growing up I was destined to be a petrolhead as my dad had a very colourful car ownership history- Bentleys, Mercs, BMs, Lotus Elise, Nissan 300zx (a thing of wonder to a 9 year old boy when it was new in the 90s), Marcos and AM Virage but all paled in comparison to the Lotus Carlton. It only lasted in the family for six months as my mum couldn't cope with the clutch and tired of kangaroo hopping her way around Brighton.
The acceleration was like nothing I had experienced before or since. The sound was phenomenal. A truly visceral experience. True, as some have said, the interior is... functional but to be honest you don't notice when your eyes are pinned to the back of your head by the brutal acceleration and speed of the thing!
So many fond memories. Being stopped by Sussex police just so they could see one having heard the stories... boy racers in Novas and Metros starting of scoffing at the fact we'd stuck Lotus badges on a Vauxhall, their faces dropping in shock and amazement when my dad put his foot down before catching up at the next lights and shouting words of praise! My dad often talks about outrunning an AMG Merc on the autobahn on a sales trip, the AMG pilot giving the international hand signal for "you've done me".
Not ashamed to say I shed a tear when it went and think it took me a good year to forgive my mum!
If funds permitted I would have one in my garage in a shot.
The acceleration was like nothing I had experienced before or since. The sound was phenomenal. A truly visceral experience. True, as some have said, the interior is... functional but to be honest you don't notice when your eyes are pinned to the back of your head by the brutal acceleration and speed of the thing!
So many fond memories. Being stopped by Sussex police just so they could see one having heard the stories... boy racers in Novas and Metros starting of scoffing at the fact we'd stuck Lotus badges on a Vauxhall, their faces dropping in shock and amazement when my dad put his foot down before catching up at the next lights and shouting words of praise! My dad often talks about outrunning an AMG Merc on the autobahn on a sales trip, the AMG pilot giving the international hand signal for "you've done me".
Not ashamed to say I shed a tear when it went and think it took me a good year to forgive my mum!
If funds permitted I would have one in my garage in a shot.
^ WHS
Been a few very good posts on here about experiences in Lotus Carltons so I guess I should tell one of mine
Around 1990 I went with the wife to a motorshow and Vauxhall had a Lotus Carlton on the stand not yet released but with a price tag of around £50,000 owning a Vauxhall Carlton 1.8Li I said to the wife I'll definitely have one of them one day - she looked at the price and said that's double what we paid for our house so you have no chance. I replied it's a Vauxhall it will depreciate like a brick.........
10 years later after a divorce and succession of Senator 24V's as well as a few 3.0 Carltons I bought one - I could have done it much quicker without a divorce but I couldn't get lucky twice
I have three other stories
One involves a Hayabusa and a stretch of private runway - yes I ride bikes and pretty much any sports bike will annihilate a Lotus Carlton of the mark and create a good distance between itself but when the rider realises that you are still in their mirrors at well north of 160 mph and slows down and pulls over to see what the heck it is - the look on the riders face as I changed from 5th to 6th was one to remember I got a thumbs up.
Another is about the purchase and the history behind mine
And the last one involves an E39 M5 and another stretch of private runway
-
Been a few very good posts on here about experiences in Lotus Carltons so I guess I should tell one of mine
Around 1990 I went with the wife to a motorshow and Vauxhall had a Lotus Carlton on the stand not yet released but with a price tag of around £50,000 owning a Vauxhall Carlton 1.8Li I said to the wife I'll definitely have one of them one day - she looked at the price and said that's double what we paid for our house so you have no chance. I replied it's a Vauxhall it will depreciate like a brick.........
10 years later after a divorce and succession of Senator 24V's as well as a few 3.0 Carltons I bought one - I could have done it much quicker without a divorce but I couldn't get lucky twice
I have three other stories
One involves a Hayabusa and a stretch of private runway - yes I ride bikes and pretty much any sports bike will annihilate a Lotus Carlton of the mark and create a good distance between itself but when the rider realises that you are still in their mirrors at well north of 160 mph and slows down and pulls over to see what the heck it is - the look on the riders face as I changed from 5th to 6th was one to remember
I got a thumbs up.Another is about the purchase and the history behind mine
And the last one involves an E39 M5 and another stretch of private runway
-
I'm lucky enough to have been passenger in an LC a few times. I'm gonna get flamed for this, didnt feel especially fast, comfy, the gearing felt incredibly long and pointless. There was no real engine noise or tone. The engine felt very lazy, it just didnt want to rev, and the wind noise when you get up to motorway speeds is atrocious. As a Vauxhall fanboy, Vauxhall is in my blood and i lusted after even being next to one. But it just didnt live up to expectations, i thought it was going to be a rocket ship or at least feel special. Just felt like a Carlton/Senator. I have no doubt that even a modern hot hatch would destroy the lotus in all areas. Don't get me wrong, i would still have one in the collection but I'd never want to drive it because i know it'd be a disappointment
HedgeyGedgey said:
I'm lucky enough to have been passenger in an LC a few times. I'm gonna get flamed for this, didnt feel especially fast, comfy, the gearing felt incredibly long and pointless. There was no real engine noise or tone. The engine felt very lazy, it just didnt want to rev, and the wind noise when you get up to motorway speeds is atrocious. As a Vauxhall fanboy, Vauxhall is in my blood and i lusted after even being next to one. But it just didnt live up to expectations, i thought it was going to be a rocket ship or at least feel special. Just felt like a Carlton/Senator. I have no doubt that even a modern hot hatch would destroy the lotus in all areas. Don't get me wrong, i would still have one in the collection but I'd never want to drive it because i know it'd be a disappointment
Wind noise at speed is typical of Carlton/Senators it gets more bearable after 160 For the rest of the comments I'm gonna very politely suggest that it wasn't in "perfect" running order or someone was being nice to it
If you want the full eyeballs in the back of the sockets then perhaps you can advise the owner
Engage GPS mode - side step the clutch at 3500 rpm you'll get a brief chirp from the rear tyres but she will dig in and you'll be looking for another gear - you might need to feather the throttle very briefly after the change to second to stop the rears lighting up and 60 will be with you in 5 secs. 100 will be with you 6 secs after that.
Like I've said before I don't drive mine gently very often.
B'stard Child said:
Wind noise at speed is typical of Carlton/Senators it gets more bearable after 160
For the rest of the comments I'm gonna very politely suggest that it wasn't in "perfect" running order or someone was being nice to it
If you want the full eyeballs in the back of the sockets then perhaps you can advise the owner
Engage GPS mode - side step the clutch at 3500 rpm you'll get a brief chirp from the rear tyres but she will dig in and you'll be looking for another gear - you might need to feather the throttle very briefly after the change to second to stop the rears lighting up and 60 will be with you in 5 secs. 100 will be with you 6 secs after that.
Like I've said before I don't drive mine gently very often.
It wasn't a nice example For the rest of the comments I'm gonna very politely suggest that it wasn't in "perfect" running order or someone was being nice to it
If you want the full eyeballs in the back of the sockets then perhaps you can advise the owner
Engage GPS mode - side step the clutch at 3500 rpm you'll get a brief chirp from the rear tyres but she will dig in and you'll be looking for another gear - you might need to feather the throttle very briefly after the change to second to stop the rears lighting up and 60 will be with you in 5 secs. 100 will be with you 6 secs after that.
Like I've said before I don't drive mine gently very often.
it just wasn't what i expected tbh. I actually have a theory that a c20let corsa/nova with the f28 gearbox would be able to push the LC right up to silly speeds. The corsa would have a better power to weight so should accelerate better, and the f28 box is geared for 185, so more than the LC can achieveGassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff