Photo of the day: Lotus Carlton, the sports saloon hero

Cards on the table: we’re absolute suckers for a sports saloon. The combination of sports car pace with a practical body – often a rather subdued, therefore incognito practical body – has us mildly weak at the knees and instantly daydreaming of film’s cooler car chases.

Therefore the new Audi S8 Plus, which shoehorns Ferrari Speciale power into something that resembles a motorway-trudging A4, is good news indeed around these quarters.

It’s just the latest in a line of such four-door treats, though. And a high watermark in sports saloon history sits above.

Fine, this one's not subtle. Not even slightly. But just look at its stance; there's a real sense a humble Vauxhall Carlton body can barely contain the 377bhp twin-turbo force within.

It may not sound like much firepower now, but the Carlton’s 176mph top speed gives little to Audi’s super S8. And back in the early ‘90s, it packed enough potency to attract a Daily Mail hate campaign.

Can there be any greater endorsement than that?