Few cars have been subject to a public campaign threatening their very existence, but when a band of thieves outran West Midlands Police’s fleet of Peugeot 405s and Austin Montegos using a stolen Lotus Carlton in 1993, the car was deemed “unsafe” and “unreasonable” by the government itself.
With five usable seats and a 177mph top speed that eclipsed pretty much anything else with indicators, this long-lost Lotus, registration 40 RA, consistently evaded capture as the petty criminals embarked on a ram-raiding spree over the course of several months. A local police officer complained of being unable “to get near the thing” and the Daily Mail launched an ultimately unsuccessful campaign to have the Carlton banned from public roads.
The fate of 40 RA remains uncertain to this day. There’s even a Facebook group dedicated to finding it. But anyway, there are faster, more common and much cheaper getaway cars available today, especially as the only two examples on sale at the time of writing were nearly £70,000.
That’s huge money for a car that, to the untrained eye, is an ageing Vauxhall repmobile wearing a flash aero kit, but given just 320 UK cars were built and far fewer likely remain, there’s no questioning its scarcity. Let’s not forget, either, that Hethel’s take on the Carlton was rather more aggressive than that of Luton. Under the bonnet lies a 3.6-litre twin-turbocharged straight six pushing 377bhp and 419lb ft to the rear axle, which in Autocar’s own road test helped the saloon cover 0-100mph-0 in just 17sec, placing it second only to the Ferrari F40 at the time. The Vauxhall’s multi-link suspension was tuned for improved dynamics, too, and its six-speed manual gearbox was shared with none other than the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1.
So would your £69,995 go on a new BMW M3 Competition or on this brawny British bank heist weapon? This particular example is currently owned by a Vauxhall specialist, with prior keepers maintaining a fastidious record of all repairs and servicing. It’s an investment, sure, but don’t be put off giving it the beans where possible: the Lotus Carlton was built to be enjoyed, not dry-stored.
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Q Carlton
There was a superchipped Lotus Carlton round our way, only saw it once...
Legendary Q Car
Only yesterday, I was discussing Q cars with my brother and I mentioned the Lotus Carlton. Most people wouldn't give one of these a second look but, even 30 years on, this is still a quick car.
Lotus Carlton, what a great
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