Lotus Carlton

The Lotus Carlton was a Vauxhall 4-door saloon. It was launched in 1989 at an auto exhibition in Geneva and was initially called the Carlton Omega. Production eventually commenced in 1991, but lasted only till 1994. Production came to a halt in December 1992 due to poor sales. 1,100 were supposed to be manufactured, out of which only 320 Vauxhalls and 630 Opels were made.

The Vauxhall Lotus Carlton was enhanced into a 176 mph (283 km/h) sports car by Lotus. The five-seater car featured air intakes on the bonnet, broad wheel arches and Lotus badges affixed on the front wings as well as bootlid. It used to be sold only in one colour that is dark green, which almost resembled black.

The engine of the Lotus Carlton was initially a three-liter DOHC 24 valve inline-six cylinder engine. It was later upgraded to 3.6 L that provided 377 hp. The improved engine was also fitted with Garrett T25 turbochargers and a water intercooler. It had a six-speed manual ZF transmission. It could run 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds and its top speed was around 175 mph. It was built with sturdy 12.5 inch AP ventilated brake discs with racing calipers. The interiors featured Recaro leather seating, suede panelling on the doors trim and Alcantara on the steering wheel.