The Magnificent 3.6L Lotus Omega Cartlon

Article written by Bush Tyres

Contenders for Santa’s New Sleigh

Christmas arrived early in our Spalding Branch when a visit from two cars arrived which are both more than capable of helping Santa deliver his presents faster on Christmas eve. The mighty R33 GTR and an exceptionally rare Omega Lotus Carlton visited for a free WINTER check.

Contender 1 – Lotus Omega Carlton

One of the 1990s super saloons, the car itself had many names! Basically, a standard saloon car produced by Vauxhall taken and then heavily upgraded by Lotus cars to create a supercar killer. Lotus gave the car one name, as they do with all their models, the car was known simply to them as ‘Type 104.’ To begin with the engineers tinkered with the engine, taking the standard Opel/Vauxhall 2969cc 24v straight six engines used in the GSi and enlarging it to 3615cc. To this larger engine two Garrett T25 turbos were added.

These delivered 0.7 bar or 10psi of boost from 2500rpm. Due to the fuel requirements needed the original distributor also had to be upgraded to a three-coil wasted spark system. The old drive for the distributor was repurposed as a water pump for additional cooling required for air/water intercooler system. The results were a 4-door family saloon capable of over 176mph and 0-60mph times of under 5.1 seconds.

Lotus didn’t just turn their hand to engine modifications alone. The chassis and suspension along with the brakes and steering also got the benefit of some added race car knowledge. The Omega was already well regarded for its advanced multi-link suspension, but the team needed to improve the high-speed stability of the car. As such the car used the self-levelling suspension from its bigger brother, The Senator. The Type 104 also borrowed the adaptive ‘servotronic’ steering from the Senator. This allowed the steering to be fully assisted at low speeds for parking and manoeuvring, with the assistance reducing at higher speeds to improve the feel and control.

The exterior of the car gained a rear spoiler and added cooling vents to the bonnet. The cars all carried Lotus badges on their front wings and boot lid and the car also had a more aggressive body kit with considerably larger wheel arches and wheels fitted to help get that power to the road. The car was only offered in one colour ‘Imperial Green,’ a menacing version of the classic British Racing Green colour. Production ran from 1990 to 1992 and a total of 950 cars were made, 320 Carltons and 630 Omegas making this car an exceptionally rare sight on the roads today and a true modern classic for any collector.

Contender 2 – The Nissan R33 GTR

As with the Omega Carlton above, the R33 is powered by a turbo charged in line 6-cylinder engine, the mighty RB26DETT. A rare sight on UK roads the R33 was sold in Japan and UK cars are all imported by their owners and are known as ‘Grey imports.’ Originally launched in 1995 and built through until 1998. Due to the car’s popularity in the UK, Nissan did eventually officially import a limited run of R33 GT-R V-spec models.

A total of 97 cars were sold by Middlehurst Nissan and sold out within 9 months. The cars are incredibly powerful and produce more power than stated by the official numbers. This was due to the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ made by top manufacturers in the 90s to limit the advertised bhp figures. The car’s stated power was 276bph, owners claim real figures of 316bhp and with modifications these cars can often be seen with 400-600bhp. The cars all achieve 0-60mph in under 3.8 seconds and run on to top speeds more than 155mph.

Santa’s Conundrum

Which car would you choose? Santa would be happy with either of these performance car classics should his sleigh ever be out of service, although the Lotus did only come in green and Santa des prefer red.  Whichever car he chooses he can be sure the cars are both ‘Winter ready’ having been fully checked over by the team at Bush Tyres Spalding.

Our technicians will perform a series of FREE checks to make sure that your car is safe and ready for the long and cold winter months ahead. Once your vehicle check has been completed our trained experts will discuss the report with you and provide help and guidance if any elements do not meet the safety requirements.

Call in to any branch today to claim your own FREE winter check or click here to book online!

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