Lotus Carlton

[TheViper]

Lotus Carlton
From Wikipedia
Lotus Carlton
Manufacturer General Motors
Also called Opel Lotus Omega
Production 1990–1992
Predecessor Lotus Cortina
Class Sports car
Body style(s) 4-door saloon
Platform FR V-body
Engine(s) 3.6 L C36GET I6
Transmission(s) 6-speed ZF manual
Related Opel Omega
Vauxhall Carlton

The Lotus Carlton (in mainland Europe, the Lotus Omega) was a Vauxhall Carlton saloon upgraded by Lotus Cars to be a 177 mph (285 kph) sports car. Like all Lotus vehicles, it was given a type designation — Type 104 in this case. The external differences were minimal to the five seater with only the rear spoiler, air intakes on the bonnet, Lotus badges on the front wings and bootlid, and considerably wider wheel arches telling it apart from any other Carlton. The car was only sold in one colour, a shade of British racing green called Imperial Green, a very dark green that in anything but direct light appears black. Lotus' modifications included an upgraded engine, which was stroked from the standard Vauxhall 2969 cc 24v straight six unit, used in the GSi, to a capacity of 3615 cc. Lotus then added twin Garrett T25 turbochargers to give 382 hp (281 kW). A six-speed manual ZF transmission from a Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 was used to transfer this power to the rear wheels. The car was capable of 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds and had 12.5 in (330 mm) AP ventilated disc brakes with racing calipers all round.
Production of the Lotus Carlton began in 1990, four years after the original Carlton went on sale. General Motors (the parent company of Vauxhall, Opel and - at the time - Lotus) had hoped to build 1,100 cars in total, but due to the recession of the early 1990s, the £48,000 cars were not selling as well as anticipated and production at Lotus was halted in December 1992. Only 950 cars were completed: 320 Carltons and 630 Omegas, 150 short of the original target.
Top speed - 175+ mph (281+ km/h)
Peak power - 382 hp (281 kW) @ 5200 rpm
Acceleration - 0-60 mph: 4.9 sec., 0-100 mph: 11.5 sec./0-100 km/h: 5,2 sec., 0-160 km/h: 11,5 sec.
Peak torque - 419 ft·lbf / 568 N·m @ 4200
Engine displacement - 3615 cc
Engine type - Twin turbocharged straight six-cylinder
Configuration - Front-engined, rear-wheel drive
Transmission - Six-speed ZF manual
Weight - 3666 lbs (1663 kg)
Production - 950 units
Price - £48,000

[Bob Dz.]

Lotus are you listening?!?!?

I hope this similar plan is in the works in the US. The Ethos will provide a 2+2, but Lotus needs to add a legitimate 5 passenger car to it's portfolio and this is the best way to keep the costs down. They need to team up with a US car manufacturer, find a 4 door, 5 passenger model on it's way out, hand it over to Lotus Engineering and re-make the car into a car that all us Elise owners that now have 2.5 kids can buy, bring to the track and still have tons of room for groceries.

[tsunami racer]

this thread needs to be moved to the "other lotus cars" section. to have the carlton/omega filed in the "lotus inspired cars" section would be an absolute insult to the car itself.