Cops and robbers: How one ultra-rare car defeated the West Midlands police

Louis Brindle and the Influx team would take a deep dive into what made this infamous car so unique and desired by petrolheads. 

In the short film, ‘Cars that made the 90s - Vauxhall Lotus Carlton’, Mr Brindle discussed the appeal of the high performance car. 

“The perfect blend of brute force and class, the Vauxhall Lotus Carlton was true one off,” he began. 

“Only 950 were made with 284 built for the UK.” 

“It’s supercar performance in a saloon car,” added Paul, a Carlton owner who also starred in the film. 

“They stroked the engine to 3.6 - put mold pistons into it, slipper mold pistons, which brought the compression down.”

“The cam shafts are the same, the in-depth valves are the same and the lifters, all the hydraulic valves, all the same as a 24 valve GSi.”

“And then they put the two turbos on with a charge cooler from the Lotus Esprit, and that’s what you’ve got in front of you today.” 

Mr Brindle would then explain; “All of those enhancements created a great deal of controversy, with tabloid newspapers calling for it to be banned and the House of Commons discussing whether it should be available to anyone that isn’t Nigel Mansell.”

The government at the time would look into banning the rowdy racer but it wasn’t taken further. However, there are only around 105 Carltons on the road these days.

“In the early 90s, it was also gaining bad press for becoming a very handy getaway car.”

The Carlton’s unexpected rap sheet from 1993 has followed the car model for over three decades.

“40 RA, a license plate you may be familiar with for all the wrong reasons. Nevertheless, it helped form the Carlton’s notoriety.”

“40 RA is a Vauxhall Lotus Carlton that was nicked up in the Midlands, West Midlands, by a gang of robbers,” the Carlton owner recalled. 

“The car was actually used in a number of robberies, around the West Midlands and for several days, and was never caught by the police.”

Stolen from Worcestershire, the Carlton’s incredible speed was used to the criminal’s advantage. 

“The police only had little Pandas (police cars), which would only top out at 55, 60 miles per hour. And all they saw was this black Lotus Carlton disappearing in the sunset with a boot full of liquor and cigarettes. And they never ever caught it. ”

There were even rumours that the car evaded the West Midlands police helicopter, with the local force seemingly admitting defeat and the British public remaining intrigued. 

“They were that brazen, they done a burglary literally opposite the police station and still got away,” he recalled. 

“It was later found in a canal in Null, where the thieves had dumped it. A barge went over it and crushed the roof in, and that’s how they found it.” 

“But the thieves were never ever caught.” 

“Not something we condone, of course, but one of the many factors that gives this car its ‘lovable rogue charm’ 35 years later,” Mr Brindle would conclude.