Lotus Omega/Carlton in NZ

[005 Mark]

Hi Guys,

IF you want to know about the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton in NZ, just ask VOS?

Both Ashley and I have known about this car for years. It is in the South Island and yes it is a Vauxhall badged one. The owner is very private and doesn't want his details given out to every tom, dick and harry! It is the only Lotus Calton ever brought into NZ.
I also spoke to a bloke at Lotus cars in Melborune a few years ago and he had two Vauxhall badged ones there for sale. You won't get much change out of $60,000 Aus dollars. I got to see the photos of them. Nice guy. Cheers, M.A.

[001 Neville]

Cheers for that.

No problem Nev! BTW, that German link I posted is several years old now mate....

But I understand he is back in the country, and this seems to confirm it, so trying again to track the car down and maybe Gary too! .....

Good luck Nev!

Don't forget to let us all know when/what you find out mate!

Met Gary at the local raceway last weekend, and spoke to him a couple of weeks ago. The DTM Omega is still stored away in a container, and the new owner ( I spoke to him too) is happy for us to meet there when he has finished building a showroom/museum for his collection of exotics.....

In the meantime, there is a racing team based out of Christchurch running a very fast Holden Torana (see separate thread about Levels Raceway) and I'm hoping they will invite us to meet up in their workshop for a look.....

[001 Neville]

Hi Guys,

IF you want to know about the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton in NZ, just ask VOS?

Both Ashley and I have known about this car for years. It is in the South Island and yes it is a Vauxhall badged one. The owner is very private and doesn't want his details given out to every tom, dick and harry! It is the only Lotus Calton ever brought into NZ.
I also spoke to a bloke at Lotus cars in Melborune a few years ago and he had two Vauxhall badged ones there for sale. You won't get much change out of $60,000 Aus dollars. I got to see the photos of them. Nice guy. Cheers, M.A.

doesn't want his details given out to every tom, dick and harry

... how about a Neville?

I can understand the guy's wish for privacy, but is the LC ever taken out of the garage? What is the point in having a car like this otherwise????? Do you know what is the build number of the cars? I think there is a plate in the car (glovebox?) which tells which of the limited build each car is - and UK LC/LO owners will be interested to locate another one too if a genuine Lotus Carlton/Omega.

[005 Mark]

Hi Neville,

The funny thing about a lot of classic car owners in this country is, that they own these rare models and they don't want anything to do with clubs etc... VOS has about twenty members or people we know in and around NZ that just aren't interested in attending shows or keeping in touch, or even getting to see the cars myself! We get to meet people who know them or registration details or family friends etc... etc... Some of them travel half way round the world to NZ and bring these cars with them only to sit in the garage or go down to the local shops once in a blue moon. If you are in the right place at the right time you may get to see some of them out and about. A lot of our members have been spotted this way. The one that is down in the South Island is a Vauxhall badged Lotus Carlton, where as the Lotus Omega ones were Opel badged. There was only 320 Vauxhall badged ones made and from what i hear 600 or so Opel models. There were plans to make 1,100 in total but they got canned at around 950 or there abouts. It is only through a friend of a friend that I know about it, and not even I am allowed to get near it!! It is registered and comes with a build number. That i'm afraid to say has to stay with the car until such time as we learn more. Don't worry thou i am working on it. Cheers, M.A.

[028 Sean]

Its a real shame that there are these few special vehicle owners that are not at all willing to share their cars build numbers or details with other owners/enthusiasts from around the Globe!



The cars original manufacturers are not interested or don't even keep accounts/records of these machines anymore because they are so old....so if it wasn't for these few persistant dedicated, die hard people who work tirelessly year after year to compile their own histories about these beasts by collecting magazines, brochures and talking in the flesh to the people on the factory shop floors who built these cars.....we'd have nothing but false information from Wikipedia and urban myths to rely on regarding these Lotus Carlton's and Lotus Omega's.

I've personally been collecting information from all over the World regarding every configuration you can possibly imagine regarding the Mk3 Carlton's/Omega A's and Senator B's. Its during the last 17 years that I've found out some real hidden treasure like the fact that the original 1989 prototype Lotus Omega show car with German registration GG NV 355.....















was a fully working 3.6L 12v Turbo car that was hacked about around the rear of this vehicle when it came to the UK and was registered as G929 SPP.....



Other rare information obtained proves that pre-production prototype Lotus Carlton "PP9" whose UK registration was G476 KVG was sent Pininfarina in December 1990 to be cut up and turned into a fully running and working "Mid Atlantic" coupe car before the Geneva Salon show in March of 1991.



This Pininfarina show car was called the Chronos!



Rare magazine features and extremely rare brochures showing how the then new Calibra's front headlights were modified and used on this vehicle are all we have left to tell these cars interesting stories. What a boring World this would be if we all took this selfish attitude and didn't share our hard earned knowledge with other like minded individuals.



JM2PW!

[005 Mark]

Hi Sean,

I can understand how you feel! We all feel the same way here in Auckland as well. Unfortunately some of these owners aren't like you and I living in a normal world and enjoying every little thing that we can get our hands on. I would love to go down there and obtain all the information for you but it ain't going to happen until the owner sells it or passes away. Sad thing to say but if you knew what some of these owners are like, you would understand. These people come from a world of money and know no differant. One could call them snobs or pratts, jaffa's, plonkers or even upper class yupies who think they are bigger and better than every one else. Yes they know the cars are sort of rare, but they aren't interested in silly little clubs and registers for the rare models. Owners like you and I are very passionate about what we do in life with our cars and clubs, sadly there are owners out there that don't think like we do, they live in a world of there own. We have some quite rare Vauxhall models up here in Auckland that have been brought all the way over from the UK and the owners just don't want to know about us or even clubs, shows or anything else to do with it. We get told to go away and don't come back. Some of them have even moved just so we don't know where they keep the cars. We have got a lot of people from all over the country looking out for these cars, both Vauxhall & Opel, 60's, 70's, 80's you name it. We want to know and the registration is the best way to find them. There is a club in Russia for the Lotus Omega/Carlton as well. You should already know all the details about them? They have quite a few over there. If i hear or get to see anything more on the one down in the South Island, I am more than happy to fill you in. Cheers, M.A. (Vauxhall Opel Sport NZ)

[028 Sean]

If I'm to be totally honest, Its no different here in the UK Mark! Some people see some car clubs as elitest and others as chav-fests and don't want to be a part of or associated with either type available.

That is of course....until they suffer severe gremlins in one way or another with their chosen beast and cannot fix the problem without asking outside their safe zone for help. Suddenly us car-geeks can find ourselves in the position of these peoples new best friend!!!

Going slightly off topic....A few years ago now, I bought the gutted remains of what I consider to be a rare car. I've learned since then that not everyone considers a 1988 3.6L 12v Irmscher Senator as a rare jewel like I do. Thats fine with me! When I picked up the car (shouldn't that be trailer'd away... )....it was just a rusty shell with just the engine and transmission left as all the other tasty Irmscher parts were gone. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what was needed to rebuild this vehicle but my own knowledge proved to be very small in comparison when chatting via emails to several German Irmscher Senator enthusiasts!

Humbling isn't quite good enough a word to describe how I felt when I found out more and more vital trinkets of information about Irmscher cars. All in all, I believe that its totally thanks to this open sharing that I have now recreated my car to be one of the most accurate representations of an Irmscher Senator in the UK. Its still got a fair way to go until I am 100% happy with it tho. Yes, there are bits that are now fitted to my car that it never had when it originally left Irmscher UK but I think its now better as I've used nothing but genuine Irmscher parts and some of these sourced items are the higher spec options that were available at the time but were never fitted to my car.

If it wasn't for my German friends, I would not know about or would have even been able to source many of these items in the first place. Most club members in the UK knew nothing about these available options. Not long ago, I was contacted by another Autobahnstormers Club member who wanted to turn his 3.0i 24v Senator into an Irmscher Senator. Without hesitation I sent him all the infomation I could find to help him create his own car. This person now has a very nice Irmscher Senator too!

I guess I will never really understand why some people will shy away and others will imbrace enthusiasts. I'm just glad that I class myself as falling into the latter of these two very different camps!

[127 Gordo]

If they look after the car, in my mind, it's their call if they get involved or not - frustrating, perhaps, but it's their car!

What DOES grievously upset me is the people that let their cars rot while true enthusiasts are basically told to F*** off!
I expect there are quite a few of you that remember that barn that had dozens of cars - some very rare - stored and because the barn was falling to bits, many exotics were little more than scrap. !

[026 Nik]

Seriously, there was a rumour of one, but it could just be a replica or possibly an Evo500? Who knows what is tucked away in garages in NZ - I'm frequently surprised what else emerges.

True, like the silver McLaren F1 Roadcar tucked away in a garage in Wellington (still- I think) as 1 example - I was lucky enough to spot it when I was living in the wairarapa back in 96' - I turned around and tailed it in my red S4 Rx7 turbo - not to be a clown, but to try and get a closer look. I got spotted and it accelerated away from me on a straight north of masterton like I was going backwards .........

Ferrari F40 siting in Auckland occasionally as well??

3 real F40's in NZ and 2 McLarens. The Wellington McLaren is owned by the Whittaker brothers of the chocolate factory fame.

[026 Nik]

Hi Guys,

IF you want to know about the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton in NZ, just ask VOS?

Both Ashley and I have known about this car for years. It is in the South Island and yes it is a Vauxhall badged one. The owner is very private and doesn't want his details given out to every tom, dick and harry! It is the only Lotus Calton ever brought into NZ.
I also spoke to a bloke at Lotus cars in Melborune a few years ago and he had two Vauxhall badged ones there for sale. You won't get much change out of $60,000 Aus dollars. I got to see the photos of them. Nice guy. Cheers, M.A.

In the mid 90's when importing cars from the UK was all the rage a Auckland car yard called Sliverstone cars had a Lotus Carlton for sale. Not long after the car yard went t up. I always thought the car would have been exported back to the UK. Sounds like your man must have purchased it?

Also my brother and I both have a copy of the Lotus Carlton book, Mum purchased them for us at the London motorshow in the mid to '90's.

They are worth a bit now!

http://www.amazon.com/Lotus-Carlton-Ian ... 1855321858

[001 Neville]

One new Forum member with an LC in Australia, and he says there is a second one as well! Check out the Member's garage

[152 Ashley F]

Hi Guys,

IF you want to know about the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton in NZ, just ask VOS?

Both Ashley and I have known about this car for years. It is in the South Island and yes it is a Vauxhall badged one. The owner is very private and doesn't want his details given out to every tom, dick and harry! It is the only Lotus Calton ever brought into NZ.
I also spoke to a bloke at Lotus cars in Melborune a few years ago and he had two Vauxhall badged ones there for sale. You won't get much change out of $60,000 Aus dollars. I got to see the photos of them. Nice guy. Cheers, M.A.

Hi Guys, the new member is me. Thank you all so much for welcoming me on board. I own Lotus Carlton 0053G and there is another here as some of you may have read in my posts. The other car in Australia is 0284G. Both these cars would have been the ones that you saw the photos of Mark, as they were both owned by Lotus Cars Australia and sold after they liquidated.
When you talk about the NZ owner not wanting to join clubs and being very private I can kind of feel his pain with that. I have had previous experiences with another club I was involved in for Ford RS cars starting nearly 15 years ago. I was a part of this club for many years and eventually let my membership lapse and just continued to enjoy the car without attending concourses and shows or club meets. It was just easier. The atmosphere became rather poisonous and there was always bitching and back stabbing going on. Since leaving that club I have since bought 2 more RS vehicles and am still not a member. I did meet some great people however and it's a shame it all went that way.
To be honest I was not going to join a club when I bought the Carlton either but started chasing contacts in the UK and was urged strongly several times by several members to join the Autobahnstormers club .........I joined not knowing what to expect and have been extremely pleasantly surprised how nice and help full everyone has been, as is the case with my experience here.
Perhaps the NZ LC owner has been spooked or had a sour experience previously and is very wary of clubs for that reason. I hope he will have the LC out for all to see but can understand if he wants to keep it to himself although its a shame for all the enthusiasts.

Would love to hear more about the guy in Melbourne that was selling both the LC's sometime Mark.

Ash

[005 Mark]

Hi Ash,

Good to hear from you. Nice that one of the LC owners wants to keep in touch with us. Sadly the owner is just not interested. Very much upper class and to good for all us normal people
Really lookforward to your restore over the few years. Hope it all comes up nice. Would love to own one myself, however it would have to be in mint condition and only 20,000mls on the clock. Very rare to find that now days, but anything is possible
The two that i saw in the photos, were the ones from Lotus cars in Melbourne. The one you have may indeed be one of them? When i saw them some years ago they were in very good condition however. The new VXR8 due out in the UK soon is going to have the new 7.0lt motor from what i hear. Will belive it when i see it.
If your keen to join up with us at VOS, send me a email with your contact details etc... and some pics and i'll add you to the list?
Cheers, Mark... <Vauxhall@orcon.net.nz>

[026 Nik]

Hi Ash,

Good to hear from you. Nice that one of the LC owners wants to keep in touch with us. Sadly the owner that lives down in Queenstown is just not interested. Very much upper class and to good for all us normal people
Really lookforward to your restore over the few years. Hope it all comes up nice. Would love to own one myself, however it would have to be in mint condition and only 20,000mls on the clock. Very rare to find that now days, but anything is possible
The two that i saw in the photos, were the ones from Lotus cars in Melbourne. The one you have may indeed be one of them? When i saw them some years ago they were in very good condition however. The new VXR8 due out in the UK soon is going to have the new 7.0lt motor from what i hear. Will belive it when i see it.
If your keen to join up with us at VOS, send me a email with your contact details etc... and some pics and i'll add you to the list?
Cheers, Mark... <Vauxhall@orcon.net.nz>

Has anyone seen the LC?

[005 Mark]

Hi Ash,
Yes a couple of well respected people i know have seen it in person. It was originally sold through a dealer in Wellington to the current owner. I am still working on getting the details, like build number etc... Maybe even some pic's of it just to show people that it does really live here in NZ. The plates will have to be removed thou as people here can track it. I have been told that he does take it out every now and then and keeps it in very nice nick. I don't know how many miles it has done or much else, other than it is a Vauxhall badged one. Even the couple of people that i know who know the owner have been instructed to say nothing. I will find it and all the details some day soon as i'm already in touch with someone else who can help me track it down. (Beware VOS is here!)
Cheers, Mark...