1990 Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo Review and Performance Comparison

Lotus Carlton Performance Review.

Introduction:

The 1990 Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo is a powered by a Petrol Straight 6. This variant of the Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo is the 6 speed / Manual version and was first brought out around 1990. This was at around the same time as the introduction of the 1991 Jaguar XJ R-15 6.0 V12 and the 1991 Jaguar XJ 220.

This particular Lotus Carlton has a 3615cc Turbo Petrol powerplant driven by the Lotus Rear Wheel Drive system.

Alternative Petrol Straight 6's include the 1965 Aston-Martin DB6 1965

The Carlton shares its Petrol Straight 6 engine configuration with the likes of the 1965 Aston-Martin DB6 1965 and the 2013 Porsche 911 Turbo S 991.If you're looking for other similar performing cars which share the Carlton's Rear Wheel Drive, Saloon combination then how about the 1985 Alfa-Romeo Spider Veloce or the earlier 1982 Fiat X1/9 1.5 8V.

Power and Weight:

Weighing in at 1663 kgs (3666 lbs) places the Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo in a similar weight category as the 2025 Ferrari 849 Testarossa Spider and the excellent 2024 Aston-Martin Valhalla Hybrid, give or take 50kg.

The Lotus Carlton shares the same bhp with the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray 6.2 V8 Petrol Hybrid C8 (369 bhp)

In terms of pure power the 3615cc 24 valve, Straight 6 engine produces around 377 bhp (281 kW) @ 5200 rpm which is comparable to the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray 6.2 V8 Petrol Hybrid C8 (369 bhp) and also the 2024 Audi A3 RS 3 Saloon (395 bhp).

The Turbo Straight 6 throws out 419 lb-ft (568.0 Nm) @ 568 rpm placing it with cars of similar torque performance figures such as the 2025 Maserati GranTurismo 490 (443 lb-ft) or the 2025 Maserati GranCabrio 490 (443 lb-ft).

Power to Weight:

If you look at both power or torque of the 1990 Lotus Carlton in comparison with its weight you get a much more accurate idea of its real world performance.

The 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet 997 (251.6 bhp per ton) has similar Bhp Per Ton stats as the Lotus Carlton.

The Lotus Carlton has a power to weight ratio of 226.6 bhp per ton. Bhp per ton figures of the 1990 Carlton 3.6 Turbo means you're competing with the 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet 997 (251.6 bhp per ton) and the equally quick 2004 Audi A6 RS6 Avant Plus 4.2L V8 Twin Turbo (251.5 bhp per ton).

Torque to Weight:

If you agree with the late great Carroll Shelby then arguably an even better indicator of potential performance is Torque!. However, torque isn't the whole story, you also need to compare weight as well for more real world comparisons such as torque per ton.

The Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo generates around 251.9 lb-ft per ton. So if you're looking at what cars perform similarly either on the drag strip or at the traffic lights using torque to weight as a benchmark, then look no further than the 2009 Ford Mustang GT 500 (276.9 lb-ft per ton) or the similarly performing 2012 Jaguar F Type 5.0L V8 S Cabriolet (276.8 lb-ft per ton).

Acceleration:

The Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo can accelerate 0–60mph in 5.20 secs or 0–100km/h (0–62mph) in 5.4 secs. Acceleration rivals to the Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo include the 2021 Mercedes E Class E400 d All-Terrain 4MATIC (5.20 secs) or the equally as fast to 60mph 2021 Honda Civic Type R 2.0 16V Limited Edition (5.20 secs).

The Straight 6 engine of the Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo ensures that, ‘on paper’ at least, accelerates slightly faster than the 2025 BYD Han L LiDAR Premium (5.30 secs) and the 2025 BYD Han L LiDAR Flagship (5.30 secs).

Quarter Mile time is a close race between the Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo and the Rolls-Royce Ghost 6.6 V12

On a longer format for acceleration comparisons the 1990 Lotus Carlton can reach a quarter mile in an estimated 13.32 secs with a trap speed around 102.3 mph. Similar performances down the quarter mile drag strip can be found with the the Rolls-Royce Ghost 6.6 V12 (13.33 seconds @ 102.2 mph) and a close race between the Toyota Corolla GR 1.6 Turbo (13.33 seconds @ 102.2 mph) too.

Top Speed:

Some modern performance cars are often artificially restricted particularly when it comes to max speed. 155 mph top speed restrictions are often used as part of the German 'Gentleman's Agreement' for example, so be cautious when using maximum speed figures. The 1990 version of the Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo has a maximum speed of 175mph.

Top Speed of the 1990 Carlton equals the Mercedes C Class 63 AMG Edition 507 Coupe (174 mph)

If maxing out your car on the AutoBahn is your thing and you're wondering what has a similar top end performance to the 1990 Lotus Carlton 3.6 Turbo then there's the slightly slower the Mercedes C Class 63 AMG Edition 507 Coupe (174 mph) or how about the impressive Lotus Evora GT430 Auto 3.5 V6 Supercharged (174 mph).

— AutoSnout

Figures & Specs Summary:

Related Links:

• 1990 Carlton Rivals List.
• 1990 Carlton: Full Review and Comparisons.
• A Brief History of Lotus
• Compare the 1990 Lotus Carlton