Lotus Carlton – The Ultimate Hyper Sedan of the 1990s The Lotus Carlton was an extraordinary high performance version of the Vauxhall Carlton/Opel Omega sedan built from 1990-1994. Developed by Lotus, it featured a twin-turbo 3.6L inline-6 making 377 hp, at the time the fastest sedan in the world. Only around 1,100 examples were produced,…
Lotus Europa – The Affordable Mid-Engine British Sports Car The pioneering Lotus Europa introduced mid-engine sports car handling to the masses when launched in 1966. By placing the engine behind the passenger compartment for optimal weight balance, the Europa continued Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s obsession with performance through lightweight engineering. However, the Europa differed from…
Lotus Elise – Lightweight Purity Distilled When Lotus ditched hefty steel components for extruded aluminum bonded chassis sections on 1996’s Elise S1, this lightweight roadster ignited a revolution. Tipping scales at just 1,598 pounds proved revolutionary given thorough accommodations. By rigidly fusing the cabin directly atop a tightly mid-engine bay, Lotus focused obsessively on cutting…
Lotus 72 – Groundbreaking F1 Car that Dominated Grand Prix Racing When the sleek, angular Lotus 72 made its Formula 1 debut in 1970, packs of rivals were left bewildered as this disruptive force piloted by Jochen Rindt immediately snapped the pole position in Monaco by 1.1 seconds. Colin Chapman’s latest Lotus creation brought unprecedented…
Lotus Rally car name conjures images of racetrack glory in Formula 1 and sports car racing. But the British automaker also boasts a lesser-known history of giant-killing achievements in international rally competitions. Despite modest resources, Lotus models including the Cortina MK2 and Sunbeam Lotus stunned established makes in the 1960s and 1970s. Let’s explore how…