Image boosters didn’t prove much more successful than this one. Vauxhall, a British brand since its inception, was known for turning out worthy but rather dull cars during the 1980s. Think Cavalier, Astra, Nova, etc. Of course, GTE- and SRI-badged versions of the Astra and Nova played to the hot hatch-loving boy racers and were effective, if rather uncouth, attempts at giving the softer Golf GTI a run for its geld.
But Vauxhall remained stuck in a sort of ‘no man’s land’ between the greater perceived prestige of Volkswagen and the enduring popularity of Ford. It needed a halo model to alter perceptions of the brand and thus to allow the rest of the range to soak up some sporting credibility. So it turned to fellow General Motors-owned company Lotus, a name with an enviable record on the race track…
The 1990 Lotus Carlton was the result and, by gum, it did the business, and how. Just six years earlier, BMW had arguably invented the sports saloon with the first M5, powered by the same 3.5-litre in-line ‘six’ as the M1 supercar and M635CSi coupe, and producing 285bhp. A lot of power for a four-door in anybody’s book. Well, except Lotus's...
Using the Carlton 3000 GSi as a starting point, the Norfolk-based firm enlarged the engine from 3.0- to 3.6-litres, added a pair of Garrett turbochargers, revised the crankshaft and beefed-up the block, among other changes. The results were an incredible 377bhp and 419lb ft, deployed through the back boots via a Corvette ZR1 gearbox.
For years, the Carlton held the rather delicious title of fastest four-door saloon in the world, thanks to a top speed of 176mph. For some context, the original Ferrari Testarossa of 1984 would do 180mph. The Carlton did have three distinct advantages over the big red Italian, however: its relatively subtle styling enabled it to fly under the radar; the five leather chairs and large boot gave it infinitely more usability; and you didn’t need to live in Monaco to afford it.
It didn’t take long for the Lotus Carlton to generate publicity. Questions were raised in the Houses of Parliament over its ‘outrageous invitation to speed’, while the Daily Mail wanted it banned, before, one assumes, turning its attention back to immigrants the following day. The car was beloved of joy riders, and was famously (infamously?) involved in a series of nighttime corner-shop ram raids in which £20,000 worth of cigarettes and alcohol were taken. The combination of everyman styling, four-door practicality and sheer accelerative potency made for a threatening combination for criminals…
Even today, more than three decades after its launch, the Lotus Carlton still delivers the goods on both the straight and the narrow. The twin turbochargers endow it with gut-wrenching, horizon-pulling performance, and although it is far from an Esprit or Elise through the bends, the changes made to the chassis, suspension and brakes were a match (just) for the engine…
The Lotus Carlton, then. An icon in its own (very short) lifetime. It didn’t simply put Vauxhall on the map - it drew a great big Griffin across the whole of the Ordnance Survey.
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