Rumormill: Lotus considering a Carlton successor
Click above for a gallery off the original Lotus Carlton.
Of all the sleepers in automobiledom, the Lotus Carlton holds a special place in our hearts. Based off the Vauxhall Carlton sold in Europe, Lotus stroked out the 3.0-liter inline-six of the standard car to displace 3615 cc, added a couple of Garrett turbos and sent the resulting 382 hp and 419 lb.-ft. of torque through a six-speed ZF transmission pulled from the original Corvette ZR-1. In short, it was the ultimate low-flying aircraft, with room for four, a 0-60 time of 4.9 seconds and a top speed of over 175 mph – in 1990.
Lotus head Michael Kimberley told Autocar, that he would "like the company to build another car in the mould of the Lotus Carlton." What could form the basis of the sleeper sedan's revival? The recently unveiled Vauxhall Insignia is the modern equivalent of the Carlton, and with a modified 2.8-liter V6 packing a set of turbos and sending power to all four wheels, GM could have a serious performance package on its hands. And if the General decides to bring over the Insignia to the U.S... Lotus Aura has a nice ring to it.
Check the gallery below for more shots of the original Lotus Carlton and make the jump to watch Tiff Needell work his magic with the boosted sedan.
Gallery: Lotus Carlton
[Source: Autocar]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
s13hybrid 3:59PM (8/06/2008)
Lotus has got to be one of the best car companies ever! Please make this!
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Jruhi4 4:01PM (8/06/2008)
Given that current Lotuses are Toyota-powered, a Lotusized Lexus IS would be nice.
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Conor 4:16PM (8/06/2008)
Lotus uses Toyota engines because they're cheap and reliable. Not because they're the best out there. Also, a Lotus IS would make no sense do to the IS-F.
Lotus Aura FTW.
djSyndrome 5:05PM (8/06/2008)
IS: RWD
Aura: not RWD.
martin 4:01PM (8/06/2008)
pretty much there with the current vectra vxr, it has the 2.8v6 with two turbos, puts out 251bhp, so all it needs is the 4wd setup from the saab aero x, which is already a vectra underneath anyway. i'd hazard a guess that the insignia vxr will use 4wd
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Isuzu32 4:09PM (8/06/2008)
Best badge engineering ever. Just kidding. This was one of the coolest cars of the 90's. I would love to see a modern take on this automotive equation.
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stefan 4:10PM (8/06/2008)
Carlton/Omega RWD, Insignia FF. End of that story.
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Jan 1:39AM (8/07/2008)
wrong. awd is already an option for the 220hp and 260hp petrol engines and will be an option for the 160hp diesel engine. upcoming engines are going to be available with awd also.
black 4:11PM (8/06/2008)
Damn us Yanks missed out on a lot of good cars. :(
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Allan 4:22PM (8/06/2008)
Ya, good thing that situation has been remedied...
Oh... wait.
SilverAero 5:32PM (8/06/2008)
Oh how i wish they had brought it here. Poor man's M5.
Mi key 4:15PM (8/06/2008)
"Carlton/Omega RWD, Insignia FF. End of that story."
That where a Toyota or Tesla or any of the many companies Lotus does business with come in. Even GM would be possible if it fits with both Companies business plans.
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1337 4:33PM (8/06/2008)
This is what the Saab 9-3 Aero should be.
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Jay 6:06PM (8/06/2008)
you apparently don't understand Saab very well
1337 12:04AM (8/07/2008)
Maybe not, but Saab doesn't understand the market very well either. Saab tries to sell the 9-3 Aero and Turbo X models for around $40k, even though GM's own CTS is in the same price range and is better than the Saab in every way. If Saab understood the market, it wouldn't be selling warmed over Epsilons for $40k.
John Johnson 4:41PM (8/06/2008)
Not if CAFE has anything to say about it!
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JZeke 4:41PM (8/06/2008)
The Carlton had an inline -- not Vee -- 6 cylinder.
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jgp 4:41PM (8/06/2008)
Actually, the Holden Commodore/Pontiac G8/Vauxhall VXR8 is the modern incarnation of the Vauxhall Carlton (the Carlton actually shared a platform with the contemporary Commodore).
The Insignia is the modern incarnation of the Vauxhall Cavalier.
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Ross 9:04PM (8/06/2008)
Agreed,
The current insignia is a full size smaller than the class in which the Carlton/ (Opel)Omega competed (although it is probably in fact physically larger than the original Carlton).
The original Commodore was buit off an Omega platform and continued to be until the introduction of the VE in 2006 (which was an all new Holden designed chassis).
If Lotus really wanted to make a new Carlton, they would be supercharging or turbocharging a Commodore (which Vaxuhall have already done).
A front drive mid-sized Insignia will never by a cut-price M5 (in fact, I think the only true cut-price M5 on the market at the moment is the HSV W427 recently released in Australia.
Benfolio 4:57PM (8/06/2008)
But is it's favorite singer Tom Jones?
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