Base and First Edition specs and configuration options coming through...

[sslater006]

Had my call today, I was told that we had up to 5th November to finalise specification and pay £3k second refundable deposit to retain my delivery spot based on date of initial deposit. They can't give any idea where I am in the line until after 5th when they know how many FE V6's have been confirmed. She also indicated that it might be possible to change colour choice later as long as the car hadn't reached the paint shop yet!. I still have an issue in locking a colour in without seeing it on an actual car! At the moment I'm liking the red as shown by TomE on the Exige. For me it needs a bright colour so other options are the blue and yellow.

Thanks for the info. May I ask, when did you place your initial deposit? I placed mine on 11/07 and I'm still waiting for the call (and getting rather impatient)!

 

[Yachtie]

Thanks for the info. May I ask, when did you place your initial deposit? I placed mine on 11/07 and I'm still waiting for the call (and getting rather impatient)!

Placed 8th July 11.01am at Goodwood!. Have a signed business card from Scott Walker the UK Sales Manager to prove it!
I think the calls are all a bit random, but the 5th November is the key date for securing build slot

 

[sslater006]

Placed 8th July 11.01am at Goodwood!. Have a signed business card from Scott Walker the UK Sales Manager to prove it!
I think the calls are all a bit random, but the 5th November is the key date for securing build slot

So do you think you'll lock in your order before 5th November, or will you wait for a wider colour choice?

 

[boozyjay]

Placed 8th July 11.01am at Goodwood!. Have a signed business card from Scott Walker the UK Sales Manager to prove it!
I think the calls are all a bit random, but the 5th November is the key date for securing build slot

I also placed deposit morning of 8th July. I've just had the call about 10 mins ago, so I guess they are just doing it randomly.

 

[Yachtie]

So do you think you'll lock in your order before 5th November, or will you wait for a wider colour choice?

Definitely choose colour by 5th and pay £3k otherwise you lose your place in the queue!. I want the car and to be honest I think it will look great in any colour. No one really knows how many deposits they have, but my gut feel is a lot and if you delay for more choice then I reckon delivery will go back a year or so!...........

 

[Cutting42]

Ordered on the 8th of July and just got my Lotus call today. Started by asking if V6 or i4 and I chose i4. He then explained that there would be more info on the i4 specs and prices at the end of Nov/beg Dec. We will get another call after that to spec and confirm our i4 FE or defer further for the base. i4 FE deliveries from Autumn 2022.

 

[sslater006]

The big question for me in deciding whether to commit by 5th November, will be WHAT ARE THE FINANCE DEALS??? Unless you are in the fortunate position to be able to pay cash this will be a critical question - i.e. what will the monthly cost be based on the APR/balloon payment etc. Does anyone know when this information will be confirmed by Lotus?

 

[Stormcloud]

Had my call today, I was told that we had up to 5th November to finalise specification and pay £3k second refundable deposit to retain my delivery spot based on date of initial deposit. They can't give any idea where I am in the line until after 5th when they know how many FE V6's have been confirmed. She also indicated that it might be possible to change colour choice later as long as the car hadn't reached the paint shop yet!. I still have an issue in locking a colour in without seeing it on an actual car! At the moment I'm liking the red as shown by TomE on the Exige. For me it needs a bright colour so other options are the blue and yellow.

This is firming up now into what will happen, you'll provide your spec before the 5th of November and provide another 3k, if you are lucky enough to be No.1 in the queue then you will get a call early December to be told you are slot number 1 and the build time is 3 months, please provide up your deposit to 10% of the car value and it will be non refundable at that point. In the same conversation they'll confirm the spec you gave them before the 5th of Nov in case you had a last minute colour change or whatever the change is. The dealer cars or the press cars will be filtered into the earliest depositors so you'll be likely to have your red car (or whatever colour) arriving at your door, the same time as the dealer gets theirs. On this time frame and if anyone wants to see colours on cars or even have a drive of the v6 before you buy then you'll need to be down the list enough that you get the call 3-4 months after the very first depositor being called in December to commit. Assume dealer cars start arriving end of April, you will need to hope you are not locked in before then, if you get a call mid May then that'll be perfect if you want to be absolutely sure you picked the right colour/spec as dealers should have chosen a few different colours and options. But you risk picking up the car towards the end of summer, and that's if you time it perfectly. I wonder if you can delay a build slot at the time of Lotus asking for commitment (so deliberately drop down the list by the amount equal to a months build for example)... it's possible i guess. Personally I'm just going to assume my colour judgement is perfect.

 

[Yachtie]

The big question for me in deciding whether to commit by 5th November, will be WHAT ARE THE FINANCE DEALS??? Unless you are in the fortunate position to be able to pay cash this will be a critical question - i.e. what will the monthly cost be based on the APR/balloon payment etc. Does anyone know when this information will be confirmed by Lotus?

You can still cancel after 5th and get a refund, not sure when the firm order date will be, but I would have thought that would be after available finance deals are announced as I'm sure most will be in a similar situation

 

[sslater006]

You can still cancel after 5th and get a refund, not sure when the firm order date will be, but I would have thought that would be after available finance deals are announced as I'm sure most will be in a similar situation

That makes sense - thanks. Here's hoping for a nice low APR...

 

[VL3X]

Any word on when the additional paint colors will be available? I assume we can't get the First Edition package deal with anything other than these initial 6 color choices...

 

[EspritGuy]

Ordered on the 8th of July and just got my Lotus call today. Started by asking if V6 or i4 and I chose i4. He then explained that there would be more info on the i4 specs and prices at the end of Nov/beg Dec. We will get another call after that to spec and confirm our i4 FE or defer further for the base. i4 FE deliveries from Autumn 2022.

This is helpful. Thanks,

 

[Stormcloud]

Any word on when the additional paint colors will be available? I assume we can't get the First Edition package deal with anything other than these initial 6 color choices...

I was told November 2022, 7 extra colours. V6FE should all be delivered by then I'd suggest, and the i4FEs may also have full commitment from those who want them. Imagine if the FEs do leak into deliveries into 2023 then they'll be limited to the 6 original colours. The November colours will probably add to the 6 to offer 13 colours for base. So even early 2023 base may not offer funky colours. As much as the 6 FE colours have not been widely praised, it would be nice to have those colours limited to FEs to give the FEs something unique other than a badge. Oh well.

 

[Type25]

Placed 8th July 11.01am at Goodwood!. Have a signed business card from Scott Walker the UK Sales Manager to prove it!
I think the calls are all a bit random, but the 5th November is the key date for securing build slot

I remember Scott Walker being at Bell & Colvill and selling my S2 at Goodwood FOS in 2002. Best car salesman I ever dealt with, he really went out of his way for me, even getting Ansar Ali (Lotus CEO) to personally sign off my specific build and then getting extras I didn’t ask for nor need to pay for. Top guy!

 

[TomE]

I remember Scott Walker being at Bell & Colvill and selling my S2 at Goodwood FOS in 2002. Best car salesman I ever dealt with, he really went out of his way for me, even getting Ansar Ali (Lotus CEO) to personally sign off my specific build and then getting extras I didn’t ask for nor need to pay for. Top guy!

Scott is now Lotus UK Head of Sales and still a top guy. He's just finished restoring his orange S1 Esprit.