The Performance Vauxhall Show will celebrate the Storming Lotus Carlton this year.

• The controversial Lotus Carton is named the nation’s favourite flying griffin, ahead of the UK’s premier show for performance Vauxhalls
• Performance Vauxhall Show takes place at Santa Pod on June 11, 2017
• Special anniversary display for Cavalier turbos
• Early bird tickets still available with £5 entry discount
• Camping and live entertainment from DJ Pied Piper and MC DT

There were calls for it to be banned, the Daily Mail called it a potential killer, and it was even discussed in parliament…

That’s how controversial the Lotus Carlton was when it first appeared back in 1990. Powered by a 3.6-litre turbocharged engine and capable of a top speed of 177mph, there were calls for the super saloon to be forbidden from British roads thanks to the danger it supposedly presented to ‘family motorists’.

In reality, of course, the Lotus Carlton was every inch a thoroughbred performance car and not the family saloon the newspapers pretended it was in their sensational headlines, and its significance was proven in a more celebratory manner after it was named the most iconic hot Vauxhall ever in a survey carried out by the organisers of the UK’s premier show for the brand’s performance icons.

The Lotus Carlton topped a poll carried out by The Performance Vauxhall Show ahead of this year’s event, which takes place on June 11. Indeed, it was that popular that it took over a third of the total votes, with the Calibra coupe in second place and the Astra VXR completing the top three.

This year’s Performance Vauxhall Show is set to be one of the most action packed yet, with various attractions to draw fans of the British brand’s most thrilling models.

A special 25th birthday display to celebrate the silver anniversary of the Cavalier Turbo will be one of the star attractions, celebrating the Cavalier with attitude. With a 204bhp C20LET turbocharged engine, four-wheel-drive and Chevrolet Corvette-derived six-speed gearbox, it’s now one of the rarest and most cherished of 1990s performance saloons.

At least 10 of the 49 known survivors examples will be on display at the show, from immaculately preserved standard variants to the wildly modified.

The Cavalier feature will be just one part of the ultimate show for fans of hot Vauxhalls, sponsored by Hardrace, Ksport, BC Forged Wheels, BC Supsension and Goodridge, which regularly attracts over 10,000 visitors to the famous drag strip.

With on-strip action, including the chance for owners to enter their own Vauxhalls in a VX-only ‘Run What Ya Brung’, Santa Pod will be spilling over with classic and performance models, be them retro Novas, Chevettes, Cavaliers and Astras, or more modern VX220s, Monaros and VXRs.

As well as the drag strip action, PVS promises a host of other features including entrance photography, a lively retail village for the latest parts, mods and memorabilia, a show and shine, and some of the best and busiest club displays going.

The show itself takes place on the Sunday, but many fans making their annual pilgrimage love to make a weekend of it, so this year PVS is putting on some live evening entertainment, in the form of DJ Pied Piper and MC DT, the sound behind the famous Ayia Nappa hit ‘Do Your Really Like it?”

Camping is available at the show on the Saturday evening, and that’s where the fun really begins. Camping costs £25 per person if booked in advance, with a late night bar and Santa Pod’s funfair in action all evening.

An early bird offer also applies to show day tickets - £18 (plus booking fee), as opposed to £23 on the gate. To buy tickets, visit www.performancevauxhallshow.co.uk

For the first time in 2017, there will be a second Performance Vauxhall Show later in the year, which takes place at Rockingham Motor Speedway, Northants, on October 15.

Vauxhall celebrates 25 years of sporting super saloons, and they just keep getting better.

This year, Vauxhall is celebrating the 25^th anniversary of one of its most famous and dramatic models, the Lotus Carlton, which started a long tradition of Griffin-badged performance saloons that still survives today.

The Lotus Carlton was the fastest four-door saloon in the world when it was launched in 1989, 65 years after Vauxhall produced Britain’s first 100mph road car.  With 377bhp from its straight-six, twin-turbocharged engine, the Carlton could achieve the 0-62 sprint in 4.9 seconds and would go on to a top speed of 176mph. Its chassis was developed and fine-tuned by Lotus, resulting in a highly dynamic car with the handling capabilities and top speed to keep up with the finest supercars of the day.

A total of 440 Lotus Carltons were produced from 1989 to 1994 as a joint project between Vauxhall and Lotus, with each car costing an eye-watering £48,000.

“Everyone at the time said it was completely inappropriate for a manufacturer like Vauxhall to launch a 176mph car,” said Stuart Harris, current Head of Carline Brand at Vauxhall, but a key member of the Lotus Carlton’s launch team back in the eighties. 

“It was better than the competition in every conceivable way and will go down as one of the most iconic Vauxhalls of all time. It was landmark product for Vauxhall, which to this day is still much loved. It introduced the brand to people who would not have considered driving a Vauxhall before. The car put a question mark in people’s heads and got them talking – just like the cars in today’s VXR range do.”

After the Lotus Carlton there were talks of a successor, but the project did not go ahead, meaning the 3.0-litre quad-cam engined Omega produced from 1993 to 1997 became the final large performance saloon for Vauxhall through the rest of the 1990s.

By the early 2000s, though, large performance cars were firmly back on Vauxhall’s agenda thanks to the all-new VXR range. In 2007, it spawned the 420PS VXR8 saloon, based on sister-company Holden’s Clubsport R8. All of a sudden Vauxhall had BMW and Mercedes in its sights, and with good reason: the VXR8 produced an impressive 420PS from its 6.0-litre V8 engine and managed the 0-60 sprint in under five seconds.

But there was more to come. The supercharged limited edition Bathurst S joined the VXR8 range in 2009 costing less than £45,000, making it the least expensive car with 500PS+ at the time. The car developed a colossal 577PS and 720Nm of torque, with the V8’s grunt and supercharger’s whine providing a truly spine-tingling soundtrack. 

All of this power teamed with an array of performance modifications over the standard car, made the Bathurst an astonishingly fast and capable performance saloon, equally at home on the road or the track. 

Vauxhall’s latest incarnation, the VXR8 GTS, produces 576bhp in its current form - more power than its main rivals the BMW M5 and Mercedes E63 AMG, yet costing a substantial £20K less.

“It’s all about driving pleasure and the ownership prospect. With our performance saloons we like to show that we can be different and not do what everyone expects,” said Harris.

“If you ask anyone today what they’d include in their top-ten list of super saloons, the Lotus Carlton will always feature. Even in 2015 its performance is pretty special, but 25 years ago it was truly earth-shattering. And just like the Lotus Carlton, our current VXR range makes people reassess their preconceptions of Vauxhall and allows them to see the brand in a very different light.”    

Vauxhall celebrates many milestones with open day.

TMW THOUGHTS

As much as Vauxhall loves to promote these heritage centre open days, to class the Shed at the bottom of a car park as a Heritage Centre is a bit much, when we went last year, we were shocked to see so few cars there, just about 12-15, with over 100 years of history behind Vauxhall, and the many dozens of significant, historical and concept cars they have at their disposal, this shed is an embarrassment.

Why they cant build something, like an over sized unit, to promote their cars, both old and new, is beyond me, they could make so much more of what they have, like Rover did with the BMIHT at Gaydon, now that's a stunning place, with dozens and dozens of cars from many manufacturers, hopefully one day, they will get their finger out and do something like this, after all, it could be a real money spinner.

----------

• Heritage Centre Open Day Sunday, 24th August 2014
• Free Entry
• Over 50 historic Vauxhalls on display, from 1903 to the present day
• A year of anniversaries including 10 years of VXR and 100 years of D-Type Staff Car

Vauxhall will be showcasing its private collection of historic cars to the public for one day only on Sunday, 24^th August, 10:00am until 4:00pm.

Based at the Heritage Centre in Park Street, Luton, visitors will be able to view the company’s collection for free, including over 50 veteran, vintage and post-war Vauxhalls from 1903 to modern times, as well as a number of unique concept cars.

This year, the Vauxhall Heritage Centre’s Open Day will highlight a multitude of milestones from the collection. The D-Type Staff Car, a true icon of the First World War, celebrates its centenary in 2014, while the Firenza ‘Droop Snoot’ marks 40 years since start of production, and the Calibra and Lotus Carlton each hit the quarter century.

Back to the 21^st Century, the all-new 576bhp VXR8 GTS will be on display, along with the very first VXR model – a VX220 – which launched the sporty brand 10 years ago.

The open day will run from 10am to 4pm with food and refreshments on sale, as well as entertainment including pedal cars and face painting for children. The day is perfect for all ages of car enthusiasts and a great way for all the family to celebrate a collection of anniversaries!