'First Edition' availability

[Eagle7]

Sure, they can try. What’s happening here in the states are people will have base model V6’s months before early depositors will have FE i4’s. It’s also unclear whether the 700 North American FE’s are V6 only but that’s my impression.

It’s just odd that they haven’t closed the books on FE’s globally.

The 700 FE's for North America are all V6's because that's all the first year's production is going to be.

 

[firstlotus]

Hi all,

After reading a few posts in various threads from people saying there was no chance of them getting a first edition car and that numbers were limited, I just spoke with somebody from Lotus in the live chat on their website and was told that there is no cap on First Editions yet. Positive news which hopefully will put some minds at ease.

Here's the transcript:

09:41 am
Have all 'First Edition' cars gone now?

09:41 am
Welcome to Lotus Cars UK. Chat may be recorded for training and quality purposes.
Hello, I hope you are well.
We have not capped the amount of First Editions car that will be producing yet.
You still have the opportunity to order a FE car.

09:42 am
I put my first deposit down this week, so you're confident that will still be a 'first edition' with the badge etc...?

09:43 am
Yes, indeed. We will be in contact in the near future to ask your preference and get your configuration.

09:43 am
amazing! Thank you

I was told by a Lotus USA representative that the UK has no limit for the FE, however, the 700 limited units for North America are still in effect.

 

[Next Decade]

Sure, they can try. What’s happening here in the states are people will have base model V6’s months before early depositors will have FE i4’s. It’s also unclear whether the 700 North American FE’s are V6 only but that’s my impression.

It’s just odd that they haven’t closed the books on FE’s globally.

As a person who missed the FE V6 by two slots and put my deposit down the first week of July ‘21, I am okay with this. Lol but I guess it sucks for people who don’t want the manual.

There were lengthy discussions surrounding this early on about the V6 being manufactured first. I was told that “I picked the right version” nearly a year ago because I’d definitely have it sooner…Could it be that they are trying to appease the high demand for the V6 first to move more units overall?

Especially given that we all expect the amg to be the future performance version. They are already fully set up for and currently assembling the V6. I believe the thought process is two fold from Lotus, all with the goal of pushing more units; maybe even convince some of the first adopters to upgrade down the line.

One is that getting this tried and true power train into early models and to customers first will shake out the new chassis and electronics shared by both variants; less variables is the best way to go considering a brand new manufacturing facility and tooling.

The other is that they are still trying to capture the hype from enthusiasts who want the manual transmission. This is just my opinion but I think that most people who are willing to purchase this car and wouldn’t if it was only offered in auto, are more willing to accept small defects and minor things that their new target audience will not. Also another factor is emission standards moving forward being a concern to the remaining lifetime of that variant.

I could be wrong but, if I was tasked with balancing production numbers, with quality and lack of total recalls, the amg would come well after.

 

[emiraspain]

That’s a very generous offer! But I’m either magma/tan or nimbus/red, either with silver forged wheels. If there’s one positive in all this it’s that I’ve not yet been forced to reconcile this duality. No communication also means no forced decision making .

You could change the colour and have a delay of a few months....
I am sorry for the situation, but surely its the same with porsche and other companies in the US. Each dealer gets a certain number of cars and some dealers dont fill their allocations and others do in a day. WHen I lived in the US and wanted the merc SLK as soon as it came out, I called round 10 or 12 dealers up and down the country before I got one on order.
Same in the UK, you want a 911 today, 15 months waiting list at many dealers and then if you call around and are willing to take a slightly different version, you may get lucky.
I dont blame Lotus for this side of it, that would be unfair. If they had misinformed the dealers or you directly, then they have the blame.
Personally, and Ive said this before, the main reason I want an FE car is the F and not the E, ie its first! I could not care less about the FE badge which I personally dislike and I would rather spend less money on extras which I am forced into having. However, lotus are taking advantage of the vast interest in the car and being very clever making us take all these things and paying more than the car is worth..... YES I know its still a good price!!! VERY good as its the same as a decent Evora was / is, but 60k or 64 for the V6 I guess it a MUCH better price and I dont need the top of the line although very cool looking stereo. Anything, and I mean ANYTHING will be an improvement on the ELISE's tinnnnny sounding SONY unit and speakers. I dont need an alcantara dash, someone will stain it at some point. I dont need "diamond cut" marketing speak wheels, although I have taken them as they are worth more....
End of the day I want the car asap, so went with FE..... if I were you I would order base and go with that in a wider colour range and pay less.
Everyone is saying the cars will cost more due to all the current factors in the world, yes maybe but it wont cost 30% more... maybe 5-10% and hence if careful with extras it will still cost less than an FE and look just as good and as you seem quite picky with colours, well you will have more choice....

 

[Mike-engel]

You could change the colour and have a delay of a few months....
I am sorry for the situation, but surely its the same with porsche and other companies in the US. Each dealer gets a certain number of cars and some dealers dont fill their allocations and others do in a day. WHen I lived in the US and wanted the merc SLK as soon as it came out, I called round 10 or 12 dealers up and down the country before I got one on order.
Same in the UK, you want a 911 today, 15 months waiting list at many dealers and then if you call around and are willing to take a slightly different version, you may get lucky.
I dont blame Lotus for this side of it, that would be unfair. If they had misinformed the dealers or you directly, then they have the blame.
Personally, and Ive said this before, the main reason I want an FE car is the F and not the E, ie its first! I could not care less about the FE badge which I personally dislike and I would rather spend less money on extras which I am forced into having. However, lotus are taking advantage of the vast interest in the car and being very clever making us take all these things and paying more than the car is worth..... YES I know its still a good price!!! VERY good as its the same as a decent Evora was / is, but 60k or 64 for the V6 I guess it a MUCH better price and I dont need the top of the line although very cool looking stereo. Anything, and I mean ANYTHING will be an improvement on the ELISE's tinnnnny sounding SONY unit and speakers. I dont need an alcantara dash, someone will stain it at some point. I dont need "diamond cut" marketing speak wheels, although I have taken them as they are worth more....
End of the day I want the car asap, so went with FE..... if I were you I would order base and go with that in a wider colour range and pay less.
Everyone is saying the cars will cost more due to all the current factors in the world, yes maybe but it wont cost 30% more... maybe 5-10% and hence if careful with extras it will still cost less than an FE and look just as good and as you seem quite picky with colours, well you will have more choice....

All of what you say is sensible. But I will tell you, being a first time Lotus buyer, and without a dealer within 300 miles, I called Lotus for guidance. They directed me to the dealer where I placed my deposit and assured me that where I placed my deposit made no difference. It was the timing of when I made the deposit that was supposed to matter. I believed that, as it made sense, was fair, and I had no reason to think otherwise. I had heard at one point that this was meant to dissuade people from placing deposits at multiple dealers. I think this strategy was discussed on this forum way back when. In the interest of maintaining my view of reality I am chalking the original communication up to being a mistake at a time when there were many unknowns. But I believe people, and companies should try to make things right if they can. Perhaps the pending reviews will be a pick me up.

 

[emiraspain]

All of what you say is sensible. But I will tell you, being a first time Lotus buyer, and without a dealer within 300 miles, I called Lotus for guidance. They directed me to the dealer where I placed my deposit and assured me that where I placed my deposit made no difference. It was the timing of when I made the deposit that was supposed to matter. I believed that, as it made sense, was fair, and I had no reason to think otherwise. I had heard at one point that this was meant to dissuade people from placing deposits at multiple dealers. I think this strategy was discussed on this forum way back when. In the interest of maintaining my view of reality I am chalking the original communication up to being a mistake at a time when there were many unknowns. But I believe people, and companies should try to make things right if they can. Perhaps the pending reviews will be a pick me up.

ok I understand more now and actually I had a very similar experience where Lotus customer care also told me the Emira was not available in Spain, so I didnt / couldnt place an order there. At the time they told me this, the only dealer selling the car (not the dealer I had contacted who told me it wasnt available yet), was already accepting order and filled his order book so I missed the chance to get an FE here...... due to dealer and Lotus UK's errors.
Eventually the situation got fixed as I insisted and went quite high to do so, as it was clearly their fault.
I do hope your situation gets altered too, it would seem fair to do so!

 

[Mike-engel]

ok I understand more now and actually I had a very similar experience where Lotus customer care also told me the Emira was not available in Spain, so I didnt / couldnt place an order there. At the time they told me this, the only dealer selling the car (not the dealer I had contacted who told me it wasnt available yet), was already accepting order and filled his order book so I missed the chance to get an FE here...... due to dealer and Lotus UK's errors.
Eventually the situation got fixed as I insisted and went quite high to do so, as it was clearly their fault.
I do hope your situation gets altered too, it would seem fair to do so!

Sorry you had that experience. Your perseverance seems to have been far more effective than my efforts. Perhaps I’ll try again,

 

[emiraspain]

Sorry you had that experience. Your perseverance seems to have been far more effective than my efforts. Perhaps I’ll try again,

Yes, why not...go for it.
Last week I was charge 1000 pounds on my credit card by Lotus.com, without knowing why..... I've asked CS for comment, no response as of yet. They certainly have a way to go with Customer Service.....

 

[Weyland]

I guess it also makes sense for the home market to get a bigger allocation, and perhaps also easier for parts, build time, legislation?

For the US ppl - we deal directly with Lotus UK here, not the dealerships, so allocation is done from a central source

 

[emiraspain]

I guess it also makes sense for the home market to get a bigger allocation, and perhaps also easier for parts, build time, legislation?

For the US ppl - we deal directly with Lotus UK here, not the dealerships, so allocation is done from a central source

Yes, there have to be some benefits to being British dont there? haha

 

[TomE]

We have a decent range of locally built quirky low-volume cars to choose from

 

[NickR]

We have a decent range of locally built quirky low-volume cars to choose from

Don't forget expensive!