Carlton Automotive

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Carlton Automotive
legal form Ltd.
founding 1983
Seat Barnsley , South Yorkshire
management Stuart Allatt
Branch Automobile manufacturer

Carlton Automotive is a former British manufacturer of automotive kits . Between 1985 and 1994 the company produced around 550 kits for SUV-type vehicles and sports cars. Today Carlton manufactures tuning articles .

Company history

Carlton Automotive was founded by the engineer Stuart Allatt. The company is based in Royston Township, Barnsley . The trigger for Allat's decision to offer kit vehicles himself was the success of the Dutton Sierra , a four-seater off-road vehicle from Dutton Cars , which is considered to be one of the first SUVs. Allatt did not consider the details of the Sierra's construction to be fully developed; his goal was to offer an off-road vehicle style vehicle with high practicality. The result of these considerations was the Calton Commando, to which the Carrera sports car was added two years later. Both models were characterized by the fact that they only required a single donor vehicle. In 1994 Allett ended the production of kit vehicles. Since then, the company has been engaged in the production of automotive accessories such as spoilers , aprons and the like.

Models

Commando

The Carlton Commando was a two-door utility vehicle designed as a pickup . A large hardtop could be installed above the loading area so that the car became a four-seater station wagon. The Commando was based on a large tubular frame made of steel. The body was made of glass fiber reinforced plastic (GRP). The Commando used the mechanical components and drive technology from the Ford Cortina series 3, 4 or 5 (1970 to 1982); the doors and glazing (windshield and side windows) were also used by him. The only modification to the Ford components concerned the steering column, which had to be lengthened slightly. The base price for a kit was £ 1,650 when it was launched, with a De Luxe version going for £ 2,099.
Upon request, the Commander could be equipped with three axles and six wheels.
The Commander was produced from 1985 to 1994; a total of about 400 copies of the vehicle were made.

Carrera

The Carlton Carrera was a two-door sports car whose design has been described as a cross between the Ford Capri and Nissan 260Z . Here, too, the body was made of GRP, and the mechanical components came from the Ford Cortina. Initially, the Carrera used Ford four-cylinder engines; later eight-cylinder engines from Rover and twelve-cylinder engines from Jaguar could also be installed. A Carrera-based convertible was also available in the 1990s. Kit prices ranged from £ 1,999 for the Cortina to £ 2,299 for the Jaguar version, with the convertible being £ 600 more expensive each. Between 1985 and 1994 around 155 Carrera models were built.

Ace

A as Carlton Ace designated sports car was a replica of a roadster of Turner . Individual roadworthy copies of the Ace exist; however, the scope of production is unclear.

C400

The Carlton C400 was a replica of the De Tomaso Pantera , designed to use the mechanics of the Ford Granada and the eight-cylinder engine from Rover. Series production did not materialize. It remained with a prototype for which it is doubtful whether it was brought into a roadworthy condition.

literature

  • Steve Hole: AZ of Kit Cars. The definite encyclopaedie of the UK's kit car industry since 1949 , Haynes Publishing, Sparkford 2012, ISBN 978-1-84425-677-8

Web links