[1] Whilst its predecessor was loosely based on the Opel Rekord D, the relationship between the Carlton and the corresponding Opel Rekord E was much more obvious - being essentially the same car, retaining Opel-sourced powertrains, but with Vauxhall's typical "droop snoot" front end (which had debuted three years earlier with the Chevette and Cavalier) that featured no traditional grille, and a slightly different rear end with the number plate moved down to the rear bumper.

The other difference was the dashboard, which featured the hooded instrument binnacle going across the whole width of the car with wooden embellishment, compared to the plainer dash of the Rekord.

There were some impressive options available, including central door locking, alloy wheels and electric windows, which gave it an advantage over most of its similarly-priced competitors.

It also competed with British Leyland's Princess and Rover SD1 model ranges, as well as foreign competitors including the Citroën CX and Renault 20/30.

As with the Opel Rekord E, being a member of the V-body family; the Carlton also has commonality with the Holden Commodore produced for the Australian and New Zealand markets.

The Carlton was also sold in left hand drive in continental European markets, including the Netherlands,[2] Belgium, the Scandinavian countries, Italy, and Portugal, alongside its Rekord counterpart.

The update saw the disappearance of the droop snoot front, in favour of a more traditional (though still angled) grille shared with the Rekord.

Opel Omega B1 Although the models had always shared the same platform, and the replacement was again based on the GM V Platform, GM had the Vauxhall equivalent adopt the Opel name (a drive towards homogenization of European market model names was taking place throughout the range) and so the Carlton's replacement was sold as the Vauxhall Omega.

As well, Vauxhall used the "Dual-Ram" intake manifold, which lets the car breathe as two separate three-cylinder engines below 4,000 rpm, but changes the intake manifold profile at 4000 rpm to increase the runner length, thus increasing total engine output.

It was built with a 3615 cc six-cylinder twin-turbo engine (designated C36GET) capable of over 176 mph (283 km/h), making it officially (for the time) the fastest full four-seater that had ever been made.

Identical to the GSI but with an estate body shell and without some of the sporting accoutrements, it sold in much more limited numbers (90) and so is a much rarer sight.

[4] In June 1992 two teams from Horley Round Table, Surrey, UK, set a Guinness World Record time of 77 hours 34 minutes, driving a total 6,700 km across the then 12 EC countries in two Vauxhall Carlton 24V 3000 GSi's (J870 FFM and J751 DYC).

The Carltons were provided by Vauxhall Motors and the record attempt was also supported by Mobil Oil and the Royal Automobile Club.