Now Legal For Import: 1991 Opel Lotus Omega

As I was jogging around the neighborhood yesterday, I happened to run across a Chevrolet SS parked on the street. For those not familiar with this car, it’s a version of the Australian market Holden Commodore, packing a 6.2 liter V8 under the hood with 415 horsepower. Amazingly, this sedan is available with a 6-speed manual and the car parked on the street was one so equipped. Quite a rare sight. If I told you GM had a similar car in their arsenal 25 years ago, you probably wouldn’t believe me. But such a car existed in the form of the Opel Lotus Omega. This car would hold the title as world’s fastest four-door sedan for a number of years and represents a neat retrospective for Tuner Tuesday.

Under the hood of the Opel Lotus Omega was a 3.6 liter inline-6 with twin Garrett turbocharges and 24 valves, capable of producing 377 horsepower and launching the car to 60 mph in a hair over five seconds. Hooked up to this engine was a 6-speed manual gearbox from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1. Unlike other German manufacturers at the time, Opel did not limit this car’s top speed to 155 mph. Instead, this car’s top speed edged 180 mph. Quite the feat for a car based off an ordinary executive class sedan. Along with its stablemate, the UK market Lotus Carlton, this Lotus Omega for sale near Stuttgart, Germany is one of 950 examples ever produced.

Click for details: 1991 Opel Lotus Omega on Mobile.de

Year: 1991
Model: Lotus Omega
Engine: 3.6 liter twin-turbocharged inline-6
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Mileage: 102,000 km (~ 63,379 mi)
Price: €38,500 (~ $42,217 USD)

Fuel: Super
Special Edition
Service book
6-speed transmission
Electric sunroof
Driver Seat Height Adjustable
Power windows
Rear head restraints
Headlight washers
17″ alloy wheels
Adjustable steering column
Center armrest

The following repairs have been carried out by us:
Clutch flywheel replaced
Clutch bell reinforced (common vulnerability to receiving the release lever)
New release lever
New battery
Gearbox completely overhauled
All new synchronizer rings and bearings
New rear brake discs
Four new tires
New inspection
New TÃœV inspection
Two previous owners

Along with the Audi RS2 Avant, the Lotus Omega is one of my favorite supercars of the era. These were cars that pushed the envelope with their respective vehicle genres in terms of what was possible with performance. In an era when compact sedans are pushing 400 horsepower and more, sure, a car like this might not seem so special. But consider it’s taken this long for technology to catch up to what the Lotus Omega was capable of at the start of the 1990s. With less than 1,000 built (630 of which were left-hand drive Omegas), values for these brutes are strong, ranging anywhere between $30,000 to $50,000 in their home markets for those which have lower mileage and have been well cared for. One can hope we see a few trickle their way stateside now that they are becoming legal for importation next year.

-Paul