Lotus is looking for a partner with which to recreate the iconic Lotus Carlton. Mike Kimberley, Lotus Group CEO, has said that he would “like the company to build another car in the mould of the Lotus Carlton.” The Norfolk-based firm has a history of building highly modified performance versions of relatively mundane production cars.
The 377bhp Carlton and the 1979 Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, which was fitted with the company’s 150bhp 2.2 litre twin-cam motor, were both conceptual successors to the famous Lotus Cortina.
There has been no official word on what the firm’s ideal base for a new Lotus Carlton would be.
However, the Vauxhall Insignia is the Carlton’s modern equivalent and seems an ideal choice; its 2.8-litre turbocharged V6 could easily be modified.
