couple of relatively subtle Lotus badges and Imperial Green pearlescent paint (you could have a Lotus Carlton in any colour you liked, as long as it was Imperial Green), plus a cabin that was completely reupholstered in Connolly leather, meant that this felt like a pretty special car. Which it needed to be, as it sold for £48,000 when new. That was a lot of money, but when you consider that each car had 130 man-hours of trained craftsmanship wrapped up in its creation, it doesn’t seem quite so extortionate. The wholesale nature of the changes to the car also officially makes it a Lotus, so you didn’t have to worry about spending nearly £50K on a Vauxhall. Owners certainly needed a bit of cash,
not only to buy one, but also to insure it. The publicity surrounding its performance abilities made it a joy-rider magnet, so it was frequently stolen, sometimes by professional criminals as a getaway car – another reason for its legendary status. Only 949 Lotus Carltons were built,
with only 286 coming to the UK. As the original brochure said: “Few people will be fortunate enough to drive the Lotus Carlton – one of the world’s most exclusive cars.” Vauxhall/Opel (in Europe it was sold as the Lotus Omega) had hoped to build 1,100 cars in total, but the recession of the early 1990s slowed sales and production at Lotus was stopped in December 1992. So 20 years later, what does it feel like
to drive? Driving was fortunate enough recently to drive the Lotus Carlton that Vauxhall still has on its heritage fleet. First impressions?Well, the steering felt
heavy; the clutch was stiff, with a lot of travel involved to depress it fully; there were none of the electronic aids to help stop you getting into trouble with all that power; the gears are a little stiff and involve longish throws; and the brakes, although possessing great stopping ability, squeaked like a tortured mouse. But it quickly became clear that despite its age, it is still a worthy rival to the modern super-saloons being built by the likes of Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW. In short, it’s fantastic to drive. The one thing that really stands out is
how quick it still is. Given the opportunity to overtake, it accelerates rapidly and the speedo quickly spools up. However, even at normal motorway cruising speeds, the prodigious torque means that the Lotus Carlton feels refined and quiet (at 70mph, the rev counter shows just 1,500rpm). The handling is just as satisfying as its
pace: those suspension changes make the car agile, despite its 1,524kg weight, and it changes direction quickly and with ease. The steering is also sharp, accurate and pretty feelsome, so it inspires a great deal of confidence, and the ride quality is superb: compliant and smooth, it takes everything in its stride. All in all, the Lotus Carlton is as impressive today as it was when it first took to our roads 20 years ago, which is why used cars are still much sought-after (expect to pay anything from £15,000 upwards, with low-mileage examples around £20,000). Parts can be a bit tricky to source if anything goes wrong, but if you weigh that up against the utter joy of driving it, it’s a small price to pay.
April / May 2011 | driving
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