The notorious Lotus Carlton that once sparked outrage due to its speed is now in Jay Leno's hands

Jay Leno managed to get his hands on this incredibly rare 1992 Lotus Carlton.

Known as a ‘super saloon’ in the UK – so basically a high-performance sedan – the Lotus Carlton was never officially sold in the US.

It’s an interesting car, mostly because it combines various elements from GM as well as Lotus, and also because high-performance sedans that aren’t EVs or hybrids are rare these days.

And it was so fast that the British government actually tried to ban it.

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A rare beast that was almost ‘illegal’

In the latest video uploaded to Jay Leno’s Garage YouTube channel, Leno got behind the wheel of the Lotus Carlton.

Built by Lotus in partnership with GM, the Carlton incorporated several elements from other ex-GM brands, and it was initially designed to use a Chevy Corvette V8.

The problem was the V8 didn’t fit, and so Lotus and GM opted for a smaller six-cylinder unit with 377hp.

The engine may have been smaller, but it was still plenty fast.

When it first came out, this car was so powerful that the British government tried to ban it.

That’s because most cars were limited to 155mph back then, and this one wasn’t.

Fortunately, they didn’t actually ban it in the end.

Jay Leno often features cars he doesn’t own

Jay Leno often features cars he doesn’t actually own on this channel.

He’s often featured Ferraris that he doesn’t own, and he once made a video about ‘The Beast’, the Secret Service limo used by the US President.

Leno is arguably one of the most revered celebrity car collectors in the world.

His collection has a bit of everything, including fire trucks and one-off prototypes.

In total, it’s worth at least eight figures.

Also, fun fact, he has the most googled car collection in the world.