With a limited slip differential and larger tyres, the Super Omega/Carlton was now more than capable of handling all that additional power. Fitment of 17” Ronal alloys enabled Lotus to squeeze in larger vented brake discs and four-pot calipers. Obviously, with Lotus reputation for producing sweet-handling cars, they transformed the handling of the car, converting the rear suspension from an inferior semi-trailing arm set up to a multi-link setup offering vastly superior geometry. With the Opel/Vauxhall standard gearbox unable to handle the huge additional torque (419 lb-ft), ZFs 6-speed enabled the Lotus Omega to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 5.2 seconds, 0-100 in an astonishing 11.1 seconds and going on to a top speed of 186 mph (achieved in 5th rather than 6th gear), a controversial figure, given that almost all of its rivals adhered to a gentleman’s agreement restricting the top speed of their super saloons to 155 mph. The base 3-litre twin overhead camshaft 24 valve engine was bored and stroked to 3.6 litres, Lotus strengthened the block, upgraded the cylinder head, replaced the crankshaft, pistons and connecting rods and bolted on a pair of Garrett T25 turbochargers with intercoolers. Take a pedestrian executive car and hand it to the Lotus engineers at Hethel to work their magic and the end result is a 377bhp super saloon able to hold its head high against rivals from the BMW M sport and Mercedes Benz AMG.

Lotus omega