Vauxhall Lotus Carlton

The story

Lotus took a Vauxhall Carlton executive car and gave it two turbochargers, huge brakes and a six-speed gearbox from a Corvette. It was the fastest four-door saloon in the world. Newspapers campaigned to have it banned.

Inside

Looks like a company director's Vauxhall, but with deep leather sports seats and a speedometer reading to 180.

In period colours

Tap a colour to respray the drawing.

Meanwhile, in 1990

Margaret Thatcher resigned after eleven years as Prime Minister.

Best-selling single of 1990: Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers

Before you buy a 1990s car

• On petrol engines, check the cooling system and any sign of head gasket trouble.
• Ask when the timing belt was last changed, where fitted.
• Parts for mass-market cars are widely available; specialist and low-volume models can be hard to find.

General notes, not specific to this model. Check the model's own history before buying.

Rivals of its day

Picked automatically: cars on sale at the same time with similar size, speed and price.

See the real thing

These open in a new tab: the car on Wikimedia Commons, the interior and the badge as Google image searches.