Lancia Dilambda

1930 Lancia Dilambda Cabriolet by Carlton

Offered by Bring a Trailer Auctions | March 2023

Photo – Bring a Trailer Auctions

The Lambda was a car produced by Lancia between 1922 and 1931, and it was powered by a V4 engine. The short-lived Trikappa of 1922-1925 was the first Lancia powered by a narrow-angle V8. It’s successor, the V8-powered Dilambda, is what we have here. It’s like “two Lambdas” in terms of engine capacity. It was sold from 1928 through 1935.

The engine is a 4.0-liter V8 that made about 100 horsepower. Just 1,104 were built in the first series through 1931. This was Lancia’s halo car during its run. And this particular one was bodied by the Carlton Carriage Company in London. The result is very English and very good looking.

The history of the car includes being stored during WWII, refurbished about 5-6 years ago, and then driven across the U.S. on its way to Pebble Beach. The dealer selling this car has dropped some pretty fantastic photos of the car on its cross-continent journey. You can take a look at them here.

Update: Sold $307,000.

Vauxhall Lotus Carlton

1991 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton

Offered by Silverstone Auctions | Silverstone, England | July 29-30, 2017

Photo – Silverstone Auctions

You’re looking at the coolest car to ever wear the Vauxhall badge. It began life as a Vauxhall Carlton (which was the British version of the Opel Omega). This generation of the European full-size sedan/wagon (or “executive car”) was built between 1986 and 1993.

The hotted up Lotus version was available only from 1990 through 1992. Lotus took the standard Opel 3.0-liter engine and massaged it into a 3.6-liter straight-six and then strapped two turbochargers on top for a final power rating of 377 horsepower. That’s still pretty serious today. Sixty arrived in five seconds and the top speed was listed at 176 mph, which is pretty crazy. It outperformed many cars that were much more expensive when new – and most of those had two fewer doors as well.

The Lotus Carlton could be had in one color: Imperial Green, which looks black from nearly every angle and in every photograph. They weren’t cheap when they went on sale and that is reflected in the low build count. Opel wanted to built 1,100 examples but they only ended up selling 950 – split between Opel and Vauxhall, with this version being much rarer. Only 320 Vauxhall Lotus Carltons were produced and this example has a remarkable 4,500 original miles on the odometer. It should bring between $77,500-$90,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $94,557.

Silverstone Spring Sale Results

Silverstone Auctions’ recent Spring Sale featured two ex-Ayrton Senna race cars. The Formula One car failed to sell, but the 1982 Ralt RT3 Formula Three car sold for $177,000.

The top sale was a 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Touring that brought $320,000.

Our two feature cars, the Ford RS200 and the Turner Mk II both failed to sell. Another interesting sale was this 1992 Vauxhall Lotus Carlton. These were real hot rod sedans of the early 1990s. It’s a 114,000-mile car and sold for $15,500.

For complete results, click here.