Opel Lotus Omega: specifications, photos and reviews

In the 90s, so-called "wolves in sheep's clothing" were very popular. This is a charged version of civilian cars. Now with those associated with the E500 from the "Mercedes" or M5 in the body of E34. But few people know that the release of charged versions of sedans was engaged and "Opel". Opel Omega Lotus, released in the 90th year, made a real sensation. It was the only car of the "people's brand", which wiped the nose of the present flagships of the automobile industry. What is Opel Lotus Omega? Technical characteristics of cars and other information you will find out in the course of our review.

Design

As a basis for the "Lotus" was taken the serial body of the usual "Omega" A-series. However, it was substantially refined. So, in order to reduce aerodynamic drag, another bumpy relief was installed, the lining on the thresholds and the spoiler. By the way, all the facing elements were painted in the body color. But the civil version of "Omega A" had a black bumper. The eternal problem of "Opel" of this series is the wheel arches. A similar concept was practiced at Cadet. And if in front they were round, then behind - square. This is the case with the regular version. But in "Lotus" things are different. Engineers decided to follow the footsteps of the Mercedes and expand the arches. Naturally, it was necessary to get rid of the square form (otherwise it would look very vulgar). In turn, this allowed to install wider wheel disks. After all, the regular 15-inch "casting" is no longer capable of digesting the torque produced by the turbocharged engine. By the way, the Opel Omega Lotus car was equipped with a variety of discs with a pronounced shelf behind. A similar trend was observed in the "wolf" E500. If you look at the Opel Omega Lotus from the rear, then the ordinary motorist will not notice differences in whether this version is loaded or not. The only detail that attracts the eye is the wide rear tire (the standard profile is 265 by 40). A spoiler, many installed on the normal version. Why did not the Germans give this car an expressive design? This is the whole point of the "wolf in sheep's clothing." After all, when driving in a stream, no one will guess what this "Opel" is. But if the driver presses on the gas, then immediately this one and a half-monoton monster rushes to the point in a matter of seconds.

Dimensions, clearance

As for the sizes, they are almost identical to the standard "Omega" A-series. The length of the body is 4.77 meters, width - 1.81 meters, height - 1.44 meters. But the clearance has decreased due to low thresholds and a massive bumper. Even on 17-inch wheels, the ground clearance is 14 centimeters.

Salon

Inside, "Opel Lotus" looks the same as his civilian colleague. There is no sports steering wheel, red lines and fashionable dials with sensors (although the car is equipped with a turbocharger). The only difference is the inscription "Lotus" on the 4-spoke steering wheel, which, by the way, was without buttons. The instrument panel is quite wide. The line of her visor stretches right up to the right passenger, covering behind itself the central console. On the instrument panel there are two large dials - a speedometer and a tachometer. By the way, the first is designed for 300 kilometers per hour - this is not exactly seen on ordinary "Omega".

In the 90s, it was very fashionable to finish "under the tree" (and on the "Mercedes" used real, varnished wood). In a sedan "Lotus Omega" it is very small. There is only an insert at the lever of switching of speeds and pair of inserts on door cards. The panel itself is made in a strict, black style. Successfully harmonizes with it and a light line on the side of the door. As for the center console itself, it is quite wide, like on Audi. There are two deflectors, a number of massive buttons, an analog clock, a climate control unit and an on-board computer. On the passenger side there is a small glove box that is locked with a key. By the way, the photo below shows the British version of the sedan with the right-hand drive, which was named Opel Lotus Omega Carlton. Also "Lotus" was produced under the brand "Vauxhall". Reviews of the owners say that the car is very comfortable seats (they were designed specifically by the company "Recaro"). They are sheathed in black leather and have good lateral support. It is more pronounced than on civil versions of the car. Despite such a large age, sitting inside is quite comfortable. Pleases and quality of noise isolation. Between the front passenger and driver's seat there is an armrest - also leather-trimmed. The width of it is enough to the elbow of the driver and the passenger is not in contact with each other. The rear row, like the E-Class sedan, has a sufficient supply of spare space. The sofa is very long and wide, with pleasant notches. The rear row is purely for two passengers, although there is enough space for three. Each half of the chair has its own, albeit small, but lateral support and a headrest. But the armrest is not here. In the salon only high-quality finishing materials are used - note the reviews. Even after 20 years, the skin does not dry out, and the sofa does not fail. As for the volume of the trunk, it is the same as in the standard "Omega". It accommodates up to 520 liters of load. The loading line is low enough, so taking out things is very convenient. But the backs of the seats do not add up in any proportion. There is also no skylight for skis.

In general, the interior design of the charged version of Omega is no different from ordinary business-class sedans. There is no any specialism or bright elements. In fact, the same scheme was used in BMW. Among the striking differences - the steering wheel and dashboard. An ordinary motorist who does not understand the "wolves" will not distinguish in the salon, this version is loaded or not.

Engine

Let's look under the hood of the Opel Omega Lotus. The first thing that catches your eye is simply a huge motor with a bright inscription "Lotus". However, as well as on usual "Omega", the hood is supported by a "poker", and not gas stops. At this cost, they could not save on them, they say. But we will continue the conversation about the engine. The basis was a petrol 24-valve unit brand C30SE. In standard equipment, he developed 204 horsepower at a volume of 2970 cubic centimeters. However, this power is not enough to call "Lotus" a "wolf in sheep's clothing" (after all, the five-liter AMG on the E500 developed 326 forces). Therefore, German engineers from Opel together with General Motors decided to modernize this power unit. As a result, the block was bored. The volume of the combustion chamber increased to 3650 cubic centimeters. In addition, the engine was equipped with two turbochargers from the well-known manufacturer Garrett. Each of them produced a pressure of 0.7 bar already at 1,500 revolutions.

Since the turbine produced such a high pressure, the air in the inlet was very hot. And as you know, for best performance you need to ensure the coldest intake. Therefore, an intercooler with liquid cooling was additionally installed. It was through it that the air passed before entering the combustion chamber. By the way, the zero-resistance frame filter is not used in the inlet. The cleaning element is placed in a separate plastic housing, which is in the front right-hand part of the power unit. The inlet pipe was made of a heat-resistant nickel alloy and was polished from the inside. Thanks to this, he could withstand temperatures of up to 750 degrees Celsius. Multipoint electronic fuel injection was taken from the car "Lotus Esprit". There were 3 electronic coils in the system. They developed a current to control three pairs of candles (recall that the engine block has 6 cylinders). Due to the increased volume of cylinders, the engine required more fuel mixture. In view of this, the injectors were replaced with reinforced from the company "Bosch". From the standard, they were distinguished by their large diameter and high productivity. The element is capable of passing up to 4.75 grams of fuel per second. The exhaust tract was equipped with two catalysts and a lambda probe.

As before, the engine from Opel used 24 valves. However, the cylinder block and the crankshaft itself were reinforced. The latter simply could not stand such a load and was deformed. Due to the use of turbocharging, the compression ratio in the head was deliberately reduced. By the way, cylinder head is installed in this motor without alterations and amplifications. So, the compression ratio decreased from 10 to 8.2 points. The piston group was produced by the company "Male".

Strengthened and mounting bolts, as well as a camshaft. All components were made of high-strength, hardened steel. The lubrication system has also been refined. It is designed in such a way that a uniform spray of oil is applied to the pistons. This contributed to a better heat sink, because the motor worked in a constant load mode.

All these improvements allowed to increase the engine power to 377 horsepower. And this is with a volume of 3.7 liters. For comparison, similar capacity of "Merededesu" was achieved only with a five-liter volume of the combustion chamber.

Transmission

Opel Omega Lotus 3.7 Biturbo produced nemeryeny torque - almost 420 Nm. Of course, the standard box did not withstand such loads. Therefore, German engineers decided to strengthen it. So, for a basis the six-step mechanical transmission ZR1 from "General Motors" (it was established also on "Chevrolet Corvette") was taken. The grip was strengthened. On the car "Opel Lotus Omega" is used a dry single-disk element from the company "Saks". The disc was characterized by the presence of extremely precise damper springs. The box itself was huge and simply could not fit in a standard tunnel. Therefore, the bottom of the transmission tunnel was recycled. On the assurances of experts, this transmission could withstand up to 500 horsepower of power.

Is the box good?

A lot of controversy was about the mechanical transmission. The British came to a common opinion about its uselessness, because there the high-speed limit was 113 kilometers per hour (and in the checkpoint at this speed only the second transmission worked). It's hardly possible to use all 6 gears. After all, the fourth car was accelerating to 230 kilometers per hour. Develop all the potential could only be on the German autobahns with no speed limit. In the city, you had to switch between the first and second gears. "Omega Lotus" has very long speeds - note the owners' reviews. By the way, on the first gear the cut-off worked at 88 kilometers per hour.

Opel Omega Lotus: characteristics of dynamics

The machine produced simply stunning characteristics. Overclocking to a hundred took 5.4 seconds. Up to 160 kilometers per hour the car was accelerated in 16 seconds. If you take the British parameter, then the first 100 miles of the sedan scored in 11.1 seconds. The maximum speed is 282 kilometers per hour. And this is on 17-inch wheels with a 45-m rubber profile. By the way, the firm "Good Earn" has specially developed ZR-tires for this size. Of course, now, almost 30 years later, these overclocking characteristics do not seem so impressionable. Then, in the 90th year, the Opel Lotus Omega Carlton Biturbo was the fastest car in its E-class, surpassing the Mercedes and BMW.

Consumption

In terms of fuel consumption, the car received the following passport data. In the urban cycle, consumption is 16.1 liters, outside the city - 8.1 liters, in a mixed cycle - 10.3 liters. This indicated the minimum cost-effectiveness indicators. But in practice, the machine consumed 20-30 percent more than indicated in the passport data - note the reviews. Surprisingly, the car was designed for the 95th, not the 98th gasoline, like all turbocharged engines.

Chassis

At the front, an independent suspension was used on the suspension struts. Behind was a multi-link system with helical springs. Steering - a rack with a hydraulic amplifier (it was borrowed from the sedan of the S-class "Opel Senator", which also used "Servotronic"). A distinctive feature of the system is observed at high speeds. The more speed, the more rigid the steering wheel becomes. This contributes to the high maneuverability and controllability of a heavy sedan. The braking system also increased. Front and rear are installed disc ventilated mechanisms with a diameter of 33 and 30 centimeters respectively. Four-piston calipers from the manufacturer "AR-Racing" were used at the front, two-piston calipers behind. All the torque was only on the rear wheels. The differential was also refined. It was supplied by the Australian Holden Company. The gear ratio is 3.45.

Charged sedan for sale

Serial production of these cars was started in 1990 and stopped in the 92nd. In total, no more than a thousand specimens were collected. Therefore, to find Opel Omega Lotus on sale is not possible. This is a real rarity. The car is in the hands of private collectors around the world. Well, those who put the 377-strong sedan Opel Lotus Omega Biturbo for sale, ask for him incredible money. One of the copies was sold in the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk for $ 35,000. With a much greater probability, you can buy a large-scale model Opel Lotus Omega 1:43 Altaya. By the way, in Britain, a new "Lotus" could be purchased at a price of 38 thousand pounds sterling (despite the fact that the civil version cost 2 times cheaper).

Interesting Facts

The car "Lotus Omega" was one of the most stolen cars. The German police simply could not catch up with the hijackers, because there was nothing faster than the Opel Senator at the disposal of the cops. Also, "Lotus" is one of the few cars of those years that did not have a software speed limit of 250 kilometers per hour. Therefore, in order to operate this car, a racing license was required in Germany.

Conclusion

So, we found out what the German sedan Opel Omega Lotus has characteristics of dynamics, design and engine. The car is very rare on the roads. And to find original spare parts on it is almost impossible. Therefore, to use this machine as everyday is extremely inconvenient and unprofitable. Although it is quite comfortable and emotional. After all, even after 27 years, it is confidently dispersed to hundreds in more than 5 seconds.