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Lotus Carlton

SKYNHEDD

SKYNHEDD

SKYNHEDD

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21 Jan 2012
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304
Has anyone driven one of these dream cars?

I have fantasised about owning one for years, but are they worth the hassle and upkeep?

Is the driving experience really worth it?
 
A friend of mine has had 2 of these. The first was problematic and he spent thousands on it before letting it go. He bought another in 2009 and still owns it but it never see's wet or damp weather and is always garaged and does maybe 1200 miles per year.

I dont think its a car you can use a daily driver as my friend found with his first one and the problems that arose.
They are super quick but seem outclassed by some other less expensive cars at times.
I never got a chance to drive either but being a passenger in both i can tell you they are super quick off the line and turn heads, they get lots of attention at show events too.
 
Many years back, a company we did work for - the MD had one as his company car, did many many miles - the only problem it had was horrific stonechips on the front end :D
 
I deal with a Vauxhall garage and the owner has a pristine one with a genuine 16k on it. I dread to think what money it would fetch.
 
Remember seeing a video, from the 90s, a polic chase involving one of these. It was gone, not a chance of much keeping up with it.

Was the fastest saloon car in the world for quite sometime, pity some 'normal' cars today will keep up with it.

Only worth the money if your a die hard Vauxhall fan.
 
Begbie said:
Only worth the money if your a die hard Vauxhall fan.
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Or Lotus...

I still remember watching completed Carlton Gsi 3000s roll into the Lotus factory and Lotus Carlton's emerging. :)

Chatting to some guys who worked on them, angle grinders were one of the most used tools in the conversion. :D

Would love one. But would need to be an unmolested one and had a recent engine rebuild by someone who knows what they are doing. Would also need a huge pile of cash ready for when it went bang.
 
My friend owns one. I drove it a few months ago. Its so outdated inside, I didnt get on with it at all in that respect.The steering has a lot of weight to it but it felt a little vague at the same time. When the turbo's kick in it goes mental; it really surges and keeps pulling close to the redline. It lacks finesse but still has tidy handling for a near 20 year old 4 door saloon.
The part costs for these are now astronimical. My friend used to take it to the track but when things start to go wrong its a nightmare to track down parts. He only uses it as a weekend car now and doesnt track it.
I think you have to be a diehard fan to consider ownership of one now.
 
I worked at Lotus when they were making these.. it was like Pimp My Ride when they brought the regular Carlton in and then proceeded to basically cast everything aside and start from scratch with it :) I was in teh warehouse overlooking the area they stripped them in, when I wasn't making Elan body parts.
 
SKYNHEDD said:
Has anyone driven one of these dream cars?
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Yes.

but are they worth the hassle and upkeep?
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No. Unless you don't want to do more that 500 miles a year and just have the pleasure of owning a rare car and do some shows etc.

Is the driving experience really worth it?
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Very similar to a Sierra Cosworth and Cossies are MUCH cheaper and parts more readily available.
 
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