1993 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton
1 of just 284 made

Registration No: L753 OMP
Chassis No: SCC000019N1259307
MOT: April 2022

• No. 866 of the 950 Lotus Type 104 cars made (Carlton: 284 / Omega: 666) and just 77,393 recorded miles at the time of cataloguing
• Part of two private collections since 2012, original Service Literature binder, book pack, assorted invoices, MOT'd till April 2022
• Treated to refurbished alloy wheels, new Toyo Proxes tyres and suspension set-up plus servicing and sundry improvements during the current ownership

First registered in Chelmsford as ‘L616 KVX’, ‘Number 866’ underwent its Pre-Delivery Inspection on 10th May 1993 at 91 miles. Main dealer serviced at 1,434, 7,853, 17,726, 26,888, 35,795, 44,493 and 54,000 miles, the Lotus Carlton had covered some 57,875 miles by the time that John Farnsworth Esq. bought it from Gade Autos of Hemel Hempstead on 7th July 2001. The latter returned the super saloon to the Vauxhall network for various jobs before selling it to Hugh Garrett Esq. in 2012 at some 75,000 miles. The result of a lengthy search to find the most structurally sound example he could, ‘L753 OMP’ was sparingly used whilst part of Mr Garrett’s private collection. Purchased by the vendor because his father had already had a Lotus Carlton for many years, ‘Number 866’ still shows less than 78,000 miles to its odometer. No stranger to high performance machinery thanks to a string of Ferraris and Porsches, the seller had the Vauxhall’s suspension professionally set-up. The company responsible insisting that he fit brand new Toyo Proxes tyres all-round so as to establish a neutral baseline for adjustment. Further benefiting from refurbished alloys and servicing work, ‘L753 OMP’ ran well during our recent photography session. The Imperial Green metallic paintwork remains highly presentable as does the Anthracite leather upholstery (with the exception of the offside rear passenger headrest where the stitching has come undone). Pleasingly retaining its original space saver spare wheel, this iconic 1990s super saloon is offered for sale with original Service Literature binder, book pack, assorted invoices and MOT valid until April 2022.

Introduced in October 1990, the Lotus Carlton 'Type 104' (or Lotus Omega as it was known outside the UK) soon became infamous for its reputed 177mph top speed. Based around a four-door Vauxhall Carlton bodyshell modified to accept wider wheelarches, sideskirts and a pronounced boot spoiler, the newcomer also benefited from Lotus enhanced power steering, disc brake and suspension assembles (the latter including a sophisticated multi-link rear set-up complete with limited slip differential). Fed by twin Garrett turbochargers, its 3.6 litre 24-valve straight-six engine was allied to six-speed ZF manual transmission. With a quoted 377bhp and 419lbft of torque on tap, the Lotus Carlton / Omega could apparently sprint from 0-60mph in 5.2 seconds and 0-100mph in 11.5 seconds. Judged by the contemporary motoring press to be a performance match for the Ferrari Testarossa and Porsche 911 Turbo (though, some of its in-gear acceleration times were superior), the Type 104 only remained in production until October 1992 by which time just 950 are thought to have been made (284 Lotus Carltons and 666 Lotus Omegas). So fast that more than one contemporary newspaper demanded it be banned, the ‘Type 104’ is a true 1990s icon and genuine super saloon.

For more information, please contact:
Damian Jones
damian.jones@handh.co.uk
07855 493737