1993 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton

The Lotus Carlton was a Vauxhall Carlton upgraded by Lotus Cars to be a 177mph sports-saloon with acceleration to equal contemporary supercars. When released, it was the fastest 4-door saloon car in the world. The external differences were minimal with the addition of a rear spoiler, air intakes on the bonnet, Lotus badges on the front wings and bootlid, a bodykit and considerably wider wheel arches distinguishing it from a standard Carlton. The car was only sold in one colour, a shade of British racing green called Pearlescent Imperial Green, a very dark green that in anything but direct light appears black.

Lotus re-worked the 2969cc 24V straight six used in the Carlton GSi and bored it out to 3615cc. In addition, twin Garrett T25 turbochargers were attached resulting in 377bhp and torque at 419lb ft. Power was transmitted through a six speed ZF manual gearbox and power was driven to the rear wheels via an LSD. The brakes were supplied by AP and were 330mm ventilated discs all round with racing callipers.

Be under no doubt, these cars are phenomenal machines, they were so way ahead of their time that they are widely regarded as the reason that "hot' saloons such as the BMW M5 exist today! This increasingly rare righthand drive Lotus Carlton has been with its current custodian, one of only five from new, since 2006 and in this period has covered fewer than 12,000 miles bringing the total warranted mileage to fewer than 75,000 from new. Cosmetically, the car is in exemplary order. Silverstone Auctions were proud to sell a similar car, albeit with just 14,000 miles in November 2013 for more than £32,000. However, if these two cars were stood side-by-side you'd be hard pushed to identify which was which. The owner has maintained the car fastidiously. The presence of a handful of unavoidable stone-chips were too much to bear for this owner who in 2010 commissioned a fully-documented complete repaint of the car in correct Pearlescent Imperial Green at a cost of nearly £8,000. The result of this high-standard repaint is still more than evident today.

Sold in standard condition with no unnecessary upgrades or amendments from original specification, you will find the interior in an honest condition, fair to the car's age and mileage, but not in the least bit scruffy. The rear seats look as if they've never been sat in. The cars original registration of 'L53 XLL' obviously accompanies the car, as do two enormous box files of history, magazines where the car was featured, several plaques used for display purposes at shows, and a bespoke-tailored breathable car cover with Lotus insignia.

Not to be missed - and not for the faint-hearted! - this is one of just 320 Lotus Carlton's in righthand drive configuration and one with many more years of motoring ahead of it. This lot is sold with current MoT test certificate, a comprehensive service history file and V5C registration certificate.