This model used the "droopsnoot" nose cone, which had been designed by Wayne Cherry, Vauxhall's Chief Design Engineer to be used in the HP Firenza Droop Snoot model. In Trevor Alder's book "Vauxhall - The Post War Years" mention is made of a HP Firenza Sport Hatch prototype which was a one-off and was painted in silver starfire, with a six-light version of the droop snoot nose and also sharing the Viva/Magnum estate body shell. This car (registration plate GNK 31N) has survived and is known to be in the hands of Vauxhall enthusiasts. The HP Firenza project was proposed to produce over 2,000 cars a year, but production of this model ceased after just 204 examples were built.
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Farnborough in 1956 during that year's SBAC Show using its 'droop snoot' At the time, Fairey was mostly known for producing naval aircraft, such as the Fairey Swordfish biplane and the Fairey Firefly monoplane; the design team lacked experience with high speed projects. As a remedy to this, in October 1951, Sir Robert Lickley of Hawker Aircraft was promptly recruited as Fairey's new Chief Engineer and became a major force behind the programme. Data that had been obtained from the earlier model work also proved to have been highly valuable to the Fairy Delta 2 programme.
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By this stage most Opel Rekords came with four doors For UK consumers, the Rekord E1 based Vauxhall Carlton was identified by a "droop snoot" bonnet/hood. The Rüsselsheim plant produced both right hand drive Rekords and Carltons which, until 1981, competed with each other in the United Kingdom. Two-door sedans and three-door station wagons still represented a significant proportion of Opel Rekord production Most buyers of the estate/station wagon nevertheless opted for a second set of doors, permitting direct access for the back seat passengers. This is the Vauxhall Carlton version of the estate/station wagon.
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In the United Kingdom, the Vauxhall Cavalier badge was used on both saloon and coupé models from late 1975, which came out of the same factory in Belgium — the first Vauxhall to be built abroad. The front ends were different, featuring Vauxhall's trademark "droop snoot", as designed by Wayne Cherry. ; South Africa In South Africa there was a locally assembled version called the Chevrolet Ascona, identical in many respects to the four-door Opel Ascona B. The Ascona came with a locally built 1.3 liter inline-four from the Vauxhall Viva. A preceding upmarket version with the Vauxhall Cavalier's longer front end was sold as the Chevrolet Chevair, equipped with bigger engines of Chevrolet origins.
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The first Vauxhall Carlton was an Opel Rekord E adapted for the United Kingdom market. At the front it featured a different bonnet/hood echoing the "droop-snoot" front, as also used on the Chevette and Cavalier. The Carlton quietly succeeded the (by then long since discontinued) Vauxhall Victor FE, and was joined by the short lived Vauxhall Viceroy, a rebadged Commodore C. In the UK both models were outsold by the Ford Granada. At the back, between the rear light clusters, where the Rekord provided space for the license plate holder, the Carlton was provided with a black panel on which the word "Vauxhall" was spelled out in upper case letters.
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Main Article: Opel Rekord E The first Vauxhall Carlton was introduced in September 1978 as a replacement for the ageing VX1800/VX2300 saloons, built in Luton from components made at the Opel plant at Russelsheim.Autocar, 1982, page 42 Based on the Opel Rekord, 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. 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. It was a traditional large saloon or estate with rear-wheel drive and a spacious, comfortable interior and was available in "L" trim only.
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The sets tended to overload the Mosquito's electrical system and occasionally exploded. Mickey-equipped Mosquitos had the highest loss, abort, and mission failure rates of any version of the otherwise successful Mosquito reconnaissance aircraft, and were severely curtailed after February 19, 1945. Three were lost to enemy action and one was shot down by friendly fire from a Ninth Air Force P-47. In Europe several P-38 fighters were also converted to carrying H2X radar in the nose, along with an operator/navigator in a cramped compartment in the nose behind the radar dish, provided with small side windows and an access/exit hatch in the floor (much like the earlier P-38 "Droop Snoot" bomber-leader variants, but with a radome instead of a glazed nose).
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Some nose cones were left over at end of production and these were used in the limited run of "Sports Hatch" models as described above. The Sports Hatch limited edition did not share the uprated 2279cc slant four engine with the HP Firenza Droop Snoot model, but instead was fitted with the standard tune single carb 2279cc slant four engine and running gear of the Magnum. Also included in the standard specification was the famous "seven dial dash", Avon Safety Wheels and a distinctive paint finish in a then brand new Vauxhall "Extra Dark Wine" (only available otherwise on the brand new for 1976 VX 2300 GLS model) which was complemented with bright red striping and highlights. This model was always rare with 197 vehicles being completed and is now highly collectable.
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Sylvester J. Sharky appears to be an anthropomorphic rat, with a huge droop-snoot nose upon which a pair of pince-nez spectacles are perched. In The Golden Helmet (1952), the first story in which he appears, he provides legal advice to Azure Blue, who claims to be owner of North America, because he is a descendant of Olaf the Blue, a Viking explorer who discovered America in 901 AD. Whenever Sharky was asked to prove his client (Blue or whoever he was working for) to descend from Olaf, he replies asking the questioner to prove he is not. Sharky often speaks in fake legal Latin, like "Hocus, locus, jocus", which means "To the landlord belong the doorknobs". Lawyer Sharky seldom has a large role, but he is often seen in cameo appearances.
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The introduction of the facelifted "E2" Opel Rekord in 1982, marked the convergence of both the Rekord and Carlton (and in fact the final convergence of the Opel and Vauxhall ranges as a whole), with both cars now differing only in badging, whilst UK production ceased and all Carltons were built alongside their Rekord sisters in Rüsselsheim. The update saw the disappearance of the droop snoot front, in favour of a more traditional (though still angled) grille shared with the Rekord. Both cars also shared the new dashboard moulding and redesigned interior. This also marked the end of UK sale of the Opel Rekord, as the Opel brand was being phased out in the UK, as well as the sale of the Carlton outside the UK, as the Vauxhall brand was withdrawn from the rest of Europe.
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Lengthened, more powerful models, based on the Carlton and Rekord, were also available. Positioned directly above them was the Vauxhall Viceroy which was a Carlton with the larger 2.5 L or 3.0 L six-cylinder Opel cam-in-head engine (CIH) (the corresponding Opel was the Opel Commodore), and differed also in that it featured a chrome grille with the "white cross" motif (from the VX4/90) in place of the Carlton's painted droop snoot nose. The Viceroy/Commodore however sold poorly and were discontinued after the "E2" facelift in 1982, and a six-cylinder engine would not appear in the Carlton again until the MK2 GSi 3000 model. The Vauxhall Royale and Vauxhall Royale Coupé were in essence, long wheelbase versions of the Carlton/Viceroy with altered "six light" styling that were positioned at the top end of the range only featuring six-cylinder engines.
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