The Lotus Carlton has been named as the nation’s favourite performance Vauxhall ahead of the Calibra coupe in second place and the Astra VXR completing the top three.
The Carlton was so popular that it took over a third of the total votes in the poll which was carried out by The Performance Vauxhall Show (PVS) ahead of this year’s event, which takes place on June 11 at Santa Pod.
When the super saloon first appeared back in 1990, powered by a 3.6-litre turbocharged engine enabling a top speed of 177mph, there were calls for it to be banned from British roads due to the danger it supposedly presented to ‘family motorists’. In reality, of course, the Lotus Carlton was a thoroughbred performance car rather than the family saloon the newspapers presented it as in their sensational headlines, and its significance is borne out today with its newly acquired status as the most iconic hot Vauxhall ever.
This year’s Performance Vauxhall Show will feature various attractions to draw fans of the British brand’s most thrilling models, including a special 25th birthday display to celebrate the silver anniversary of the Cavalier Turbo. With a 204bhp turbocharged engine, four-wheel-drive and a Chevrolet Corvette-derived six-speed gearbox, it’s now one of the rarest of 1990s performance saloons.
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 chock-full of classic and performance models, from retro Novas, Chevettes, Cavaliers and Astras, to more modern VX220s, Monaros and VXRs.
PVS also promises a host of other activities including entrance photography, a lively retail village for the latest parts, mods and memorabilia, a show and shine, as well as owner’s club displays.
The show itself takes place on the Sunday, but many fans 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 Napa hit ‘Do You Really Like It?”
Camping is available at the show on the Saturday evening, priced from £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.