RE: Check out this perfectly restored Vauxhall Carlton
Yesterday
Check out this perfectly restored Vauxhall Carlton
Back in the GM days, the Carlton was everywhere - now Chevrolet Vintage is rejuvenating those left
A few manufacturers have embarked on factory-spec restorations of late, taking classics and giving them a new lease of life with the skills and resources only available from an OEM. We’ve seen it from Porsche (and a Cayenne of all things), Mazda with the MX-5 and Nissan with classic Skylines. Now there’s one more unlikely recipient of a ground up rebuild: indeed it’s the first such restoration from Chevrolet Vintage: complete with some Irmscher goodies, it’s a Vauxhall Carlton. And absolutely fabulous it looks, too.
Only it isn’t, actually. Technically speaking, this is a Chevrolet Omega, as it was known in some markets, and it’s been lovingly redone in Brazil, where they loved the Carlton as much as we did. According to the press release that was issued with the Omega, this is ‘Chevrolet’s most iconic national luxury sedan’; combine that with the fact that this is Chevrolet Vintage’s first such restoration and they really have pulled out all the stops. Carltons probably never looked this good in the first place.
This 1994 CD was actually a pretty special Carlton before GM got to work. See, 31 years ago, some legend specced it with an Irmscher kit that increased the size of the straight six from 3.0-litre to 3.6, and that configuration is retained today. Apparently it was lightly used in period, ferrying a ‘high-ranking executive in the financial sector’ from meeting to meeting, but nevertheless the Carlton was completely disassembled and each bit of it assessed individually. Parts that were still good were spruced up and protected for future, elements such as lights were restored, and where brand new parts were needed original replacements were obtained. Talk about a labour of love. Apparently even the ‘nostalgic scent’ of the fabric interior was recreated.
Now the Omega has been sold, leading an auction at the CARDE automotive design museum that celebrated 100 years of GM in Brazil. It made $80,000, or £60k - told you they really loved a Carlton. “Launching the Chevrolet Vintage auction with the Omega at CARDE has a very special symbolism, as it unites three sources of pride for Brazil: the manufacturer with the longest local operation, the most revolutionary national luxury car in history, and a museum that surprises the world with its innovative and curatorial approach,” said Santiago Chamorro, president of GM South America. More restos like the Omega are going to follow; let’s hope someone at Vauxhall can follow suit and do the same here…
v
Discussion
Unfortunately, Vauxhall won’t do anything similar because they’re owned by Stellantis, who appear to care nothing for history & heritage.
Case in point - according to a dealership parts department, when Stellantis arrived they ordered the disposal of a vast amount of stock for the modern classic cars. Try getting anything for a 90’s or 00’s era Vauxhall from a dealer and you’re out of luck.
Case in point - according to a dealership parts department, when Stellantis arrived they ordered the disposal of a vast amount of stock for the modern classic cars. Try getting anything for a 90’s or 00’s era Vauxhall from a dealer and you’re out of luck.
There’s an unwritten rule about what’s allowed to be valuable. Escorts, air-cooled 911s and early hot hatches were once cheap, unloved and disposable too — they’ve just had their narratives upgraded. A Carlton hasn’t, so people still recoil at the price.
“It’s just a Carlton” isn’t really an argument about condition, it’s taste-policing. It wasn’t aspirational then, so it isn’t supposed to be now.
And for some of us who didn’t grow up around Porsches or Ferraris, cars like this are actually more interesting. A high-end Vauxhall or Ford was the thing you hoped you might drive one day if you did well, not something exotic you never realistically touched.
Collectors paying this sort of money aren’t buying transport. They’re paying for scarcity, the cost of doing a reference-quality restoration, and the novelty of seeing something once completely ordinary preserved to museum standard.
Judge it as a car to use and it’s daft. Judge it as an artefact and it makes sense.
“It’s just a Carlton” isn’t really an argument about condition, it’s taste-policing. It wasn’t aspirational then, so it isn’t supposed to be now.
And for some of us who didn’t grow up around Porsches or Ferraris, cars like this are actually more interesting. A high-end Vauxhall or Ford was the thing you hoped you might drive one day if you did well, not something exotic you never realistically touched.
Collectors paying this sort of money aren’t buying transport. They’re paying for scarcity, the cost of doing a reference-quality restoration, and the novelty of seeing something once completely ordinary preserved to museum standard.
Judge it as a car to use and it’s daft. Judge it as an artefact and it makes sense.
Considering that £60,000 no longer buys you anything astonishing in the way of new 4 door cars (or medium sized SUVs to be the nearer modern equivalent to a Carlton) I don't find this price that ridiculous. Plenty of people on here will have spent as much or more on a more modern toy car so if this takes your fancy instead of say a Boxter, why not?
Love it, the nostalgia factor is high for me with this one.
It's a type of car that doesn't really exist anymore, not in the same way anyway. Big (probably tiny externally nowadays) comfy, and fast for the day. My memory of them is that it doesn't have seats, it has chairs, big comfy chairs. The suspension will be soft, probably a bit under-damped. In the European markets at least it would have cruised the highways enjoying 90s traffic levels and 90s Policing, driven by someone's Boss just fast enough to assert it's authority, but not so fast that you didn't at least stand a decent chance of talking your way out of a fine. FM stereo set to Radio 2 or Phil Collins in the CD Changer.
No one is going to spend big money on a Vauxhall saloon anymore, the Boss wants a BMW, Mercedes or Audi, maybe if they're more imaginative or frugal a big Skoda or Tesla. Whatever it is, it'll have much firmer seats, massive wheels, low firm suspension all for 'sportiness' that'll never be used, but looks better in pictures. It'll have a sensory overload of LEDs, screens and contractability, E-Mails, Whatapps, Teams, Calls all piped directly into the drivers eyes and ears, and it'll be an SUV which looks like it could swallow a Carlton whole, if only it wasn't for the fact the inside will somehow be much smaller.
It's a type of car that doesn't really exist anymore, not in the same way anyway. Big (probably tiny externally nowadays) comfy, and fast for the day. My memory of them is that it doesn't have seats, it has chairs, big comfy chairs. The suspension will be soft, probably a bit under-damped. In the European markets at least it would have cruised the highways enjoying 90s traffic levels and 90s Policing, driven by someone's Boss just fast enough to assert it's authority, but not so fast that you didn't at least stand a decent chance of talking your way out of a fine. FM stereo set to Radio 2 or Phil Collins in the CD Changer.
No one is going to spend big money on a Vauxhall saloon anymore, the Boss wants a BMW, Mercedes or Audi, maybe if they're more imaginative or frugal a big Skoda or Tesla. Whatever it is, it'll have much firmer seats, massive wheels, low firm suspension all for 'sportiness' that'll never be used, but looks better in pictures. It'll have a sensory overload of LEDs, screens and contractability, E-Mails, Whatapps, Teams, Calls all piped directly into the drivers eyes and ears, and it'll be an SUV which looks like it could swallow a Carlton whole, if only it wasn't for the fact the inside will somehow be much smaller.
Kawasaki2000 said:
There s an unwritten rule about what s allowed to be valuable. Escorts, air-cooled 911s and early hot hatches were once cheap, unloved and disposable too they ve just had their narratives upgraded. A Carlton hasn t, so people still recoil at the price.
It s just a Carlton isn t really an argument about condition, it s taste-policing. It wasn t aspirational then, so it isn t supposed to be now.
And for some of us who didn t grow up around Porsches or Ferraris, cars like this are actually more interesting. A high-end Vauxhall or Ford was the thing you hoped you might drive one day if you did well, not something exotic you never realistically touched.
Collectors paying this sort of money aren t buying transport. They re paying for scarcity, the cost of doing a reference-quality restoration, and the novelty of seeing something once completely ordinary preserved to museum standard.
Judge it as a car to use and it s daft. Judge it as an artefact and it makes sense.
You're spot on there for me, and I always grew up lusting after a top of the range Ford or Vauxhall as well. Obviously I loved the idea of a Lamborghini don't get me wrong, but the chance of that happening was slim to none though. It s just a Carlton isn t really an argument about condition, it s taste-policing. It wasn t aspirational then, so it isn t supposed to be now.
And for some of us who didn t grow up around Porsches or Ferraris, cars like this are actually more interesting. A high-end Vauxhall or Ford was the thing you hoped you might drive one day if you did well, not something exotic you never realistically touched.
Collectors paying this sort of money aren t buying transport. They re paying for scarcity, the cost of doing a reference-quality restoration, and the novelty of seeing something once completely ordinary preserved to museum standard.
Judge it as a car to use and it s daft. Judge it as an artefact and it makes sense.
P-Jay said:
Love it, the nostalgia factor is high for me with this one.
It's a type of car that doesn't really exist anymore, not in the same way anyway. Big (probably tiny externally nowadays) comfy, and fast for the day. My memory of them is that it doesn't have seats, it has chairs, big comfy chairs. The suspension will be soft, probably a bit under-damped. In the European markets at least it would have cruised the highways enjoying 90s traffic levels and 90s Policing, driven by someone's Boss just fast enough to assert it's authority, but not so fast that you didn't at least stand a decent chance of talking your way out of a fine. FM stereo set to Radio 2 or Phil Collins in the CD Changer.
No one is going to spend big money on a Vauxhall saloon anymore, the Boss wants a BMW, Mercedes or Audi, maybe if they're more imaginative or frugal a big Skoda or Tesla. Whatever it is, it'll have much firmer seats, massive wheels, low firm suspension all for 'sportiness' that'll never be used, but looks better in pictures. It'll have a sensory overload of LEDs, screens and contractability, E-Mails, Whatapps, Teams, Calls all piped directly into the drivers eyes and ears, and it'll be an SUV which looks like it could swallow a Carlton whole, if only it wasn't for the fact the inside will somehow be much smaller.
Driving my E34 5 series makes me think that for a "car" as a way of getting about, you don't need anything more - it has electric windows, it has central locking (although not remote), it has air conditioning (although that doesn't currently work). It has a 6 cylinder petrol engine that saves assault on the ears by a 4 cylinder diesel, whilst still being reasonably economical. It has a decent ride and handling characteristics. It has a reasonably large boot, and although leg room in the rear is a little tight, it's not cramped inside. It has projector headlamps which, coupled with Halfords 150% brighter halogen bulbs aren't dim - and they aren't blinding to others. It's a type of car that doesn't really exist anymore, not in the same way anyway. Big (probably tiny externally nowadays) comfy, and fast for the day. My memory of them is that it doesn't have seats, it has chairs, big comfy chairs. The suspension will be soft, probably a bit under-damped. In the European markets at least it would have cruised the highways enjoying 90s traffic levels and 90s Policing, driven by someone's Boss just fast enough to assert it's authority, but not so fast that you didn't at least stand a decent chance of talking your way out of a fine. FM stereo set to Radio 2 or Phil Collins in the CD Changer.
No one is going to spend big money on a Vauxhall saloon anymore, the Boss wants a BMW, Mercedes or Audi, maybe if they're more imaginative or frugal a big Skoda or Tesla. Whatever it is, it'll have much firmer seats, massive wheels, low firm suspension all for 'sportiness' that'll never be used, but looks better in pictures. It'll have a sensory overload of LEDs, screens and contractability, E-Mails, Whatapps, Teams, Calls all piped directly into the drivers eyes and ears, and it'll be an SUV which looks like it could swallow a Carlton whole, if only it wasn't for the fact the inside will somehow be much smaller.
Size wise now I think that whilst it's still a little longer than a new 3 series, it's narrower and lower.
It doesn't have bluetooth - so what I can call people when I get to my destination, although I admit that would be handy.
Really, when it absolutely boils down to it, what do people "need" in a car? Nobody "needs" 20" wheels - it's a want. Arguably nobody "needs" the 6 cylinder engine that my 5 series has I suppose..
I always through the Carlton was a handsome thing, never seemed to be as bulky as a Granada for example.
I drove a few and always thought I would get one, my brother in law had a company one, was a 2.0 CDX I think in grey and I was hoping to snag it off his dad who owned the company but they flogged it off and didnt mention it. My mate had a red estate for a while which I remember was a nice car.
The 1.8 felt a bit underpowered, 2.0 was better, never drove a six cylinder one. My old boss had a flat blue, as basic as they came with the 1.8, replaced it with a 16 Valve Calibra, hard to say how exotic a Calibra seemed back in 1990 ish.
I dont think you need to spend sixty grand on a Carlton, unless sits a Lotus, they do pop up occasionally and arent all that expensive.
I drove a few and always thought I would get one, my brother in law had a company one, was a 2.0 CDX I think in grey and I was hoping to snag it off his dad who owned the company but they flogged it off and didnt mention it. My mate had a red estate for a while which I remember was a nice car.
The 1.8 felt a bit underpowered, 2.0 was better, never drove a six cylinder one. My old boss had a flat blue, as basic as they came with the 1.8, replaced it with a 16 Valve Calibra, hard to say how exotic a Calibra seemed back in 1990 ish.
I dont think you need to spend sixty grand on a Carlton, unless sits a Lotus, they do pop up occasionally and arent all that expensive.
Triumph Man said:
P-Jay said:
Love it, the nostalgia factor is high for me with this one.
It's a type of car that doesn't really exist anymore, not in the same way anyway. Big (probably tiny externally nowadays) comfy, and fast for the day. My memory of them is that it doesn't have seats, it has chairs, big comfy chairs. The suspension will be soft, probably a bit under-damped. In the European markets at least it would have cruised the highways enjoying 90s traffic levels and 90s Policing, driven by someone's Boss just fast enough to assert it's authority, but not so fast that you didn't at least stand a decent chance of talking your way out of a fine. FM stereo set to Radio 2 or Phil Collins in the CD Changer.
No one is going to spend big money on a Vauxhall saloon anymore, the Boss wants a BMW, Mercedes or Audi, maybe if they're more imaginative or frugal a big Skoda or Tesla. Whatever it is, it'll have much firmer seats, massive wheels, low firm suspension all for 'sportiness' that'll never be used, but looks better in pictures. It'll have a sensory overload of LEDs, screens and contractability, E-Mails, Whatapps, Teams, Calls all piped directly into the drivers eyes and ears, and it'll be an SUV which looks like it could swallow a Carlton whole, if only it wasn't for the fact the inside will somehow be much smaller.
Driving my E34 5 series makes me think that for a "car" as a way of getting about, you don't need anything more - it has electric windows, it has central locking (although not remote), it has air conditioning (although that doesn't currently work). It has a 6 cylinder petrol engine that saves assault on the ears by a 4 cylinder diesel, whilst still being reasonably economical. It has a decent ride and handling characteristics. It has a reasonably large boot, and although leg room in the rear is a little tight, it's not cramped inside. It has projector headlamps which, coupled with Halfords 150% brighter halogen bulbs aren't dim - and they aren't blinding to others. It's a type of car that doesn't really exist anymore, not in the same way anyway. Big (probably tiny externally nowadays) comfy, and fast for the day. My memory of them is that it doesn't have seats, it has chairs, big comfy chairs. The suspension will be soft, probably a bit under-damped. In the European markets at least it would have cruised the highways enjoying 90s traffic levels and 90s Policing, driven by someone's Boss just fast enough to assert it's authority, but not so fast that you didn't at least stand a decent chance of talking your way out of a fine. FM stereo set to Radio 2 or Phil Collins in the CD Changer.
No one is going to spend big money on a Vauxhall saloon anymore, the Boss wants a BMW, Mercedes or Audi, maybe if they're more imaginative or frugal a big Skoda or Tesla. Whatever it is, it'll have much firmer seats, massive wheels, low firm suspension all for 'sportiness' that'll never be used, but looks better in pictures. It'll have a sensory overload of LEDs, screens and contractability, E-Mails, Whatapps, Teams, Calls all piped directly into the drivers eyes and ears, and it'll be an SUV which looks like it could swallow a Carlton whole, if only it wasn't for the fact the inside will somehow be much smaller.
Size wise now I think that whilst it's still a little longer than a new 3 series, it's narrower and lower.
It doesn't have bluetooth - so what I can call people when I get to my destination, although I admit that would be handy.
Really, when it absolutely boils down to it, what do people "need" in a car? Nobody "needs" 20" wheels - it's a want. Arguably nobody "needs" the 6 cylinder engine that my 5 series has I suppose..
valiant said:
Christ on a bike, what is it with these prices for relatively mundane motors nowadays?
Yes, find another in that condition but we re taking about a Carlton here.
Yes, find another in that condition but we re taking about a Carlton here.
About 25 years ago my cousin was doing an engineering apprenticeship and as a project he took a Vauxhall Carlton 2.0GL and
1. Bored it out to 2.1 litres (yep, an extra 25cc per cylinder)
2. Reshaped both rear arches so it looked like a Lotus Carlton
3. resprayed it british racing green
I was thinking "what a complete wasted effort" but, from his point of view, i think it was just intended to demonstrate various engineering technical skills
cerb4.5lee said:
Kawasaki2000 said:
There s an unwritten rule about what s allowed to be valuable. Escorts, air-cooled 911s and early hot hatches were once cheap, unloved and disposable too they ve just had their narratives upgraded. A Carlton hasn t, so people still recoil at the price.
It s just a Carlton isn t really an argument about condition, it s taste-policing. It wasn t aspirational then, so it isn t supposed to be now.
And for some of us who didn t grow up around Porsches or Ferraris, cars like this are actually more interesting. A high-end Vauxhall or Ford was the thing you hoped you might drive one day if you did well, not something exotic you never realistically touched.
Collectors paying this sort of money aren t buying transport. They re paying for scarcity, the cost of doing a reference-quality restoration, and the novelty of seeing something once completely ordinary preserved to museum standard.
Judge it as a car to use and it s daft. Judge it as an artefact and it makes sense.
You're spot on there for me, and I always grew up lusting after a top of the range Ford or Vauxhall as well. Obviously I loved the idea of a Lamborghini don't get me wrong, but the chance of that happening was slim to none though. It s just a Carlton isn t really an argument about condition, it s taste-policing. It wasn t aspirational then, so it isn t supposed to be now.
And for some of us who didn t grow up around Porsches or Ferraris, cars like this are actually more interesting. A high-end Vauxhall or Ford was the thing you hoped you might drive one day if you did well, not something exotic you never realistically touched.
Collectors paying this sort of money aren t buying transport. They re paying for scarcity, the cost of doing a reference-quality restoration, and the novelty of seeing something once completely ordinary preserved to museum standard.
Judge it as a car to use and it s daft. Judge it as an artefact and it makes sense.
I remember a girl called Danielle whose dad had a maroon XJ6 - i was in love
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