1988 Lotus Carlton???????

[V1PER]

Didnt know they were made then..Thought 1990 was the first??? Apart from the silver pre production cars.....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lotus-Carlton-1

[cptsideways]

The HPI report reveals all, looks like a ringer/transplant job as obviously its not registered as a Lotus!

Cheap trackday weopon though

[Sam_68]

Odd, for sure.

Apart from the date and the conflicting V5 details (5 speed gearbox and listed as a Carlton GSi?), the cam cover isn't a production Lotus Carlton item. Could be an early prototype, I guess, but not listed here, so more likely to be a bitsa.

[V1PER]

No Build No in the advert either...
1988 were only 12v engines i believe..

Edited by V1PER on Sunday 6th August 22:13

[Sam_68]

V1PER said:

No Build No in the advert either...

...and the chassis number doesn't conform to normal Lotus Carlton format. Mind you, if it was a prototype, you wouldn't necessarily expect either.

[NotNormal]

Replica without doubt based on a GSi.

Interesting where the engine came from though, although its reported to have a hole in the side of the block you can put ya fist through so only really good for parts I suppose.....

Edited by NotNormal on Monday 7th August 10:50

[knightly]

I remember reading an article in an old autocar from about 1998/99 - it was about a bloke who bought a prototype lotus carlton from Lotus as scrap - as it was a real dog - the body was too far gone, so he got another carlton shell as the donor and built it up from there - as it was featured in the magazine it was a pukka job - it looked the part.....perhaps this is that car?.....

[NotNormal]

knightly said:

I remember reading an article in an old autocar from about 1998/99 - it was about a bloke who bought a prototype lotus carlton from Lotus as scrap - as it was a real dog - the body was too far gone, so he got another carlton shell as the donor and built it up from there - as it was featured in the magazine it was a pukka job - it looked the part.....perhaps this is that car?.....

Nope its certainly not that one, but that car does still live