IMO the CC sale price was actually ok at circa 10% over list price (looking at what the buyer paid with fees added) and the fact that there were at least a handful of bidders prepared to pay very close to that.
It reaffirms that really early resales will make a slight margin but in all probability, most sales in the first 12 months will be close to list price, perhaps a slight dip to mid £70's but probably not low £70's
I think most early orders (first 1000 UK or so) were probably enthusiasts, then maybe a few flippers jumped onto the bandwagon due to healthy state of economy, low interest rates, high values for used cars etc, but probably not that many. These few flippers will now probably cancel.
However I think quite a few early deposits (lest call them the enthusiasts) in the UK have become lukewarm in the last 3-6 months due to a myriad of issues such as the economy diving, interest rates rising, mediocre reviews (certainly not glowing), underwhelming test drives, poor lotus comms, concerns over quality, plus the lengthy delays. These enthusiasts have stayed 'in' with the thought that they could keep the car a short time then sell it at no risk and possibly even get a small profit. These are the people most likely to be reconsidering pulling the plug, but I think the numbers are probably quite low in total.
The vast majority of other deposit holders (eg the porsche converts) are probably unaware of the CC auction anyway so will be carrying on regardless.
If and when these cars start turning up on autotrader at below list price, that is when the deposits will start to crumble.
