In 1990 I worked for Lotus and  took a front wheel drive Elan to Millbrook proving ground in Bedford for a meeting.  It was a milage accumulation/durability car.

A stone punctured the oil cooler on the twisty road approaching Millbrook and the car had to be repaired, (by Del).

I needed a lift back to Norfolk.

Millbrook realised there was a Technician from Lotus who was testing a Lotus Omega on the high speed bowl and that was my lift back.

As I hadn't driven one before I got to drive it on the A45 (now A14) the road was empty.

My Technician friend told me to floor it and hold it flat out, he reassured me it's been doing that all day and it's super happy and stable.

I have my limits.

He asked to drive and got an indicated 180 - watching the lamp posts going by was unreal - and to this day I still feel massively uneasy about it.

Like you say, amazing technology for its time, David Tait did all the turbo/thermodynamics calcs, Simon Wood kept the project in line and I think Tim Drake made the power targets, and there were many more!

And we shouldn't forget the fabrication department that fitted the rear round wheel arches to every car.

At the time I had been working on the ZR1 Corvette - Carlton had 5 seats and a big boot and the same performance.

It really took the micky looking back.

And it just so happened that the home Colin Chapman built for he and his family was called East Carleton Manor!

Wait a minute, Iain. I need to put on my blue  Iain Tyrrell Classic Cars polo shirt before I watch this.

I used to sell these.  Had great fun taking customers out in the demonstrator.  I owned a 1999 Vaux Omega that had front pads that were shaped to accommodate wear sensors.  Also there used to be a place in Sheffield that could remanufature unobtainable pads/shoes.  You took yours in they would take the old material off and manufacture new material and bond it to your existing backing.  Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the company.  Keep it up!
Found it! Custom brakes and hydraulics Sheffield.

One of the legends. I’m happy that there are collectors saving them from being forgotten. Even more happy that Mr. Tyrrell and his magicians are saving them from being destroyed. Thank you, huge respect for your work and dedication.

I used to walk past one of these everyday on my way to school and I couldn't help but look at it every time. Always loved these.

When Iain says he's "bringing it back to life" you know he's going to ring it's neck 😅

So, fun fact: the Vauxhall/Opel Carlton was not manufactured by Lotus Cars, but by Lotus Engineering. I was working for Lotus Engineering at this time and my leaving present was a track session at Hethel in one, but only because it was a damp track and that was because the tires were £150 each corner (quite expensive in 1991) and Lotus were always cost conscious! The other stat I liked was the 0-60-0 time of 8.5 seconds!

Back in period I was sitting at 120 on a Honda Fireblade near Stuttgart and one of these came past fast, Wife reading a newspaper, feet on the dashboard, kiddie seat in the back, lol.

5 seconds to 100 km/h is very fast even today for a big, real world usable saloon ❤

I saw a Carlton a week ago in Farnham. I think I was just as surprised to see one as the owner was that I knew what it was. He gave it a bit of gas for me. Such an awesome sounding engine! Thanks Dude if you see this comment!
(Coming from where I'm from I'd be more likely to see a 333i than a Carlton. It made my day!)
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Legendary Lotus Carlton.

"We'll be out turbocharging another episode soon" Brilliant!

35yrs old or not.....  I'd still have one today, if i had the money.  Ultimate 'family car' classic for my generation.

That’s a criminally low mileage for such a great car!

The oily finger prints on that interior A pillar trim would drive me nuts.

When I was at Road & Track Magazine, this was one of the cars that we tested in 1991 for our World’s Fastest Cars article. Testing was done at Volkswagen’s test track in Wolfsburg. Tons of fun, and a great car!

They were never officially imported into Oz (definitely our loss), so there’s barely a handful of private imports floating around. All very carefully maintained, I’d expect. Pretty much a guaranteed riot whenever one does show up at a Cars & Coffee. And, as I’m a fan of stealth weapons like the Carlton, I’d have one over just about any “supercar” of the era. Glorious!

Whoever gets this back from Iain is a lucky man indeed.

The coolest sedan ever

That Lotus Carlton is a lovely fast car; my mate had one. That one is like new; the paintwork is beautiful. Thanks for the upload, Mr Tyrrell. Cheers.