The original name for the Raleigh Professional Mark IV (introduced in 1972) was the Carlton "Giro D'Italia", which suggests that it was a stage race bike. It was top-of-the-line until 1974. I have an A-series bike (1974) and it seems to be the most agile bicycle that I own.
The Raleigh Professional Mark V, introduced in 1977, was also sold in the U.K. as a Carlton Professional model, and it was also a Team bicycle (Carlton Team, the team that seeded the Raleigh Team with riders in 1973.)
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA