http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2516017072...d=673246211834
I suspect it would take a fair chunk to get it right, but what a car in the end! ( I know a lot of the modern big Audis and BMWs Merc etc will be better cars but this was such a epic car in its day it must be worthy of a save )
I used to work for a company who gave these to the sales guys. We techies, being lowly, got cavaliers.
The techies were under-motivated. The company went bankrupt.
Not sure if it was the under motivated nerds or the petrol bill which took them down in the end ;)
Shame its uneconomical to repair to anyone but the most die hard of vauxhall/lotus fans :(
Mint it would be worth around £20k maybe? A DIYer should be able to find a donor body to cut panels out of and rebuild the engine for a few K.... MaybeOriginally Posted by jhw.
Also I'd say the values of things like these are only on the up.
edit:
nice body here:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1991-VAUXH...item43cceae2e2
Someone will have to have deep pockets and a lot of patience to save that, would be worth a fortune when done, if done correctly though!
£3k+ for a respray easily on a car this size if you wanted to do it to any decent standard.
Welding and shell prep to make it look factory finish will be a small fortune.
People who are looking at these cars to buy will more than likely to bring an expert on the model, so any bad welds etc or if something isn't aligned perfectly because it hasn't been welded on a jig will show immediately.
Such a shame to see a genuine world beater in a sorry state, hope someone saves it.
Unfortunately, parts for the Lotus Carlton are unbelievably expensive. My father looked at one when he had a Senator (back in 94 I think) and we were looking at one on the ramp and after talking running costs etc. it made a BMW M5 look economical by comparison. Fuel wasn't the worst culprit, very few parts were shared with the Carlton and more were bespoke with input from Lotus.
Chris
..... But what a marvellous old monster. Look at its road presence. Do any new BMWs have that? I think not. Yes you'd need big balls and deep pockets to take it on but it owning one of those says all the right things about you. Very retro, very masculine, very nice. Fuck the fuel.
I wonder which watch I would wear when piloting it?
They still have incredible presence- even now. I remember in the early 90's following one on the m11/m25 with the registration BAT1. I always wonder if it was British American tobacco!
I think they were often termed 'bat mobile' at the time weren't they?
Wasted an hour exploring the different specimens for sale on EBay..... Bah! I do the same in sales corner at Heuers.
Last edited by Darren; 3rd August 2014 at 23:38.
For the Facebook fans amongst us, I found this via a page I follow... UK Barn Finds
https://www.facebook.com/UKbarnfinds?fref=nf
It often kicks up little gems....
Zero work getting done this afternoon now!
great time waster that site I love it
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