The Raleigh Pro's indeed have very short top-tubes. I have a feeling that's because they were supplied with longer stems than you usually see on a racing frameset, perhaps to make the italianesque and short-wheelbase design more stable to steer.
By the way, the Carlton Giro D'Italia - which is the basis for the Mark II, III, and IV models - is a very old model, going back to the early 1960's. In the late 1960s when Raleigh began importing bikes into the USA, I think the first model they imported was the top-of-the-line Carlton Flyer, which was badged as a Professional and later retitled "Professional Mark I".
I am wondering what is the difference between a Professional Mark II, III, and IV because they all appear to be similar to the Giro D'Italia in the Carlton Catalogues. What were they were tweaking in 1971 and 1972?
Incidentally, I doubt that anyone owns a 1970 Mark I. Beause that would mean that in 1971, the Mark II AND the Mark III were both released in the same year!
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA