View Full Version : 5.7l carlton
Clicky (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1990-VAUXHALL-CARLTON-LOTUS-V8-CHEVY-MODIFIED_W0QQitemZ220552344824QQcmdZViewItemQQptZA utomobiles_UK?hash=item3359f1b4f8#ht_1283wt_976)
that looks like alot of fun
tis a shame about the horid colour, really lets it down imo
Refit a standard GSi or Lotus exterior and that would look proper job
he built himself a commodore...
as RJ said a quick kit change and a respray and that's proper jobs lol
Gonna be issues with that.
Lotus planned on the Lotus Carlton to be a V8, but there was strength of chassis and under bonnet space problems.
I wonder how close the headers are to the steering box?
It'd also be interesting to see how the steering linkage, starter, exhaust down pipes & oil filter clearance problems were overcome.
ever heard of the holden commodore sv??
it was a 5 litre in a carlton shell, developed by TWR in kidlington Oxon as a base for the holden aussie touring car (forerunner of the v8supercar) i actually saw the same uk registered one twice. once in about 1988 outside twr's base & again in about 1997 being driven up a country lane in leicestershire...
it went very well
the lotus one was done because gm were looking to boost their brand & bercause there was a sort of touring car series being mooted by bernie ecclestone that the carlton would have been perfect for.....the series never came off..
craig green
14-02-10, 01:04 AM
Straight off the pages of a 90's MAX Power magazine.
Chequer plate heaven.
ever heard of the holden commodore sv??
Yep. :thumb:
it was a 5 litre in a carlton shell, developed by TWR in kidlington Oxon as a base for the holden aussie touring car (forerunner of the v8supercar) i actually saw the same uk registered one twice. once in about 1988 outside twr's base & again in about 1997 being driven up a country lane in leicestershire...
it went very well
Yep would do, but what engine did it use, and how did they get round known clearance problems fitting a V8 to a Carlton.
the lotus one was done because gm were looking to boost their brand & bercause there was a sort of touring car series being mooted by bernie ecclestone that the carlton would have been perfect for.....the series never came off..
Not according to all the literature I've got.
GM bought Lotus, they wanted to make a performance car that showed of the new "partnership" and planned the Lotus Senator. However after loads of design/weight issues etc. They then changed to a Carlton and had seven engine options under development.
5.7 Corvette V8.
3.0 Litre, four valve (per cylinder) Bi-Turbo straight six.
3.6 Litre, four valve (per cylinder) compound charge straight six.
3.6 Litre, four valve (per cylinder) Bi-Turbo straight six.
4.0 Litre, four valve (per cylinder) straight six.
3.6 Litre, two valve (per cylinder) straight six.
3.9 Litre, two valve (per cylinder) straight six.The 5.7 V8 was rejected because it had a 24month lead time, it'd need a new steering rack, new front frame, ABS location, no room for the battery (relocated in the boot), Air Box location and Cooling system issues.
The Lotus Carlton was never considered for a race series, it was purely a look at us and what we can do. Project.
Even Opel objected, they had no urgency to supply Lotus with the bare GSi cars and were constantly late on deliveries, and they developed the Omega EVO 500 (an Homologation Special for the German Touring Car Championship), which they slapped infront of the Lotus Omega (Carlton) at the 1991 Geneva Motor Show. Even though they'd use alot of the planned design from the Lotus (movable rear wing etc).
The Lotus Carlton was never considered for a race series, it was purely a look at us and what we can do. Project.
greatest project EVER theres one on the bay for 18k :(
Straight off the pages of a 90's MAX Power magazine.
Chequer plate heaven.
I was expecting that lime green job that was on 17" 3 spokes lol. Project Thunder was it?
The car in the original link would benefit massively from a decent colour change and a standard back end though.
This reminds me of the black LC 'rep' that used to live a couple of miles from me. Silver tribal/flames up the sides. Anyone seen anything of it?
[EDIT]
Project Thunder died when it crashed through a shop window (I kid you not).
lol
keif, there were tons of proposals in the late eighties for a proper long distance touring car type of racing, with the world touring car championship, as opposed to the wtcc of the modern age, being fought by holden commodores, sierra cosworths and m3's.. there was no gt racing worth a mention, and the world sportscars were still around. people were looking for a really high performance racing series as a support for the formula 1 races but based on production cars.
alfa even built a prototype f1 engined 164 for publicity.
anywho, the LC rewrote how a supercar should perform because for a while, it really was one of the fastest and finest handling cars, it made ferraris & lamborghinis look stupid, overweight & overpriced.
so it should be praised for that reason alone.
personally I think the move to supertouring with its small engines & ludicrous budgets was a backwards step.
I used to love watching stuff like bathurst, spa, the tourist trophy at silverstone with proper big powerful cars, jags, bmw's alfas, maseratis, cossie sierras being driven by heroes & legends was proper motorsport, not these 10 lap sprints we have now, but never mind....
I'm fully aware about the Alfa produced for the "Production Car" Series.
It was in AutoSport a few weeks ago, as they did a bit on failed race series.
The LC wasn't ever a race car.
The details of it's development, the ways problems were solved and it's production are all in a book by Ian Adcock.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_kvv3fcoXqVE/SyLpd4-95fI/AAAAAAAAFoE/D5ihLx-C3Co/s400/lotus.JPG
It's a cracking read and has some rather interesting pictures.
Yes i have a copy.
sparkie1401
14-02-10, 10:08 PM
Keif has the daddy Carlton, nuff said x
The car in the eBay ad is being discussed on Aubobahnstormers.
I've copied stuff from there about the engine and issues around fitment.
The guys on there know a damn site more about Carltons than i do too.
i want a LC :( so so soooo bad
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