Carlton Automotive

 Carlton Automotive is a former British manufacturer of automotive kits . The company produced from 1985 to around 2002 about 550 kits for SUV -like vehicles and sports cars. Today Carlton manufactures tuning articles 

History

Carlton Automotive was founded by engineer Stuart Allatt. Seat of the enterprise is the municipality Royston in Barnsley . The trigger for Allat's decision to offer kit vehicles was the success of Dutton Sierra , a four-seat SUV from Dutton Cars, which is considered one of the first SUV. Allatt, however, did not believe the design of the Sierra in detail; his goal was to offer a SUV vehicle with high practicality. As a result of these considerations emerged the Calton Commando, which was supplemented two years later by the sports car Carrera. Both models were characterized by the fact that they needed only a single donor vehicle. In 1994, Allett finished the production of kit vehicles. Since then, the company has been involved in the manufacture of automotive accessories such as spoilers , aprons and the like.

Commando 

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

Carrera 

The Carlton Carrera was a two-door sports car whose design was described as a mix of Ford Capri and Nissan 260Z . Again, the body was made of fiberglass, and the mechanical components came in turn from the Ford Cortina. Initially, the Carrera used four-cylinder Ford engines; later eight-cylinder engines from Rover and Jaguar'stwelve-cylinder engines could be installed later. In the 1990s, a convertible on Carrera basis was also available. The kit prices were between £ 1,999 for the Cortina and £ 2,299 for the Jaguar version, with the Cabriolet each being £ 600 more expensive. From 1985 to 1994 created about 155 copies of the Carrera.

Ace 

A sports car called Carlton Ace was the replica of a roadster by Turner . Individual ready-to-drive specimens of the Ace exist; the production volume is however unclear.

C400 

The Carlton C400 was a replica of the De Tomaso Pantera , designed to use the mechanics of the Ford Granada and the Rover eight-cylinder engine. A serial production did not materialize. It stayed with a prototype in which it is doubtful whether he was brought into a running condition.