At a glance
- Nobody in either thread found an authoritative production figure. As one owner put it, "I don't think anyone's really got to the bottom of this".
- A 2009 thread reposted a build-number table: worldwide about 4,500 NA, 4,500 turbo, 100 of the "LY" edition and 65 VXR (it says "65/62?"), with a UK estimate of 2,750 NA, 2,750 turbo, 100 LY and 65 VXR. It is an estimate, with no source given.
- The number most often quoted was about 10,000 in total worldwide, Speedsters, NAs, turbos and VXRs together, with the last chassis number said to be "9800ish" in 2007.
- One owner posted a colour table as of December 2003. It adds up to 6,124 cars, with silver at 42.5%. The thread doesn't say where it came from or whether it covers the UK or everything.
The question
The thread started in 2007 when an owner asked how rare the VX220 was compared with the Elise, since he had seen only two in two months. The answers were guesses.
Total production: what was said
- About 10,000 in total. One owner said Lotus was commissioned to build 10,000 cars, counting Speedsters, NAs, turbos and VXRs (10,000 chassis). Another said 10,000 worldwide. A third said the last chassis number was about 9800 at the time. Someone asked why only 10,000, and the answer was that Vauxhall (or Opel) had commissioned that number. Nobody gave a source.
- Speedster against VX220. One owner thought there were more Speedsters than VX220s, putting the VX220 at about 4,000 and Speedster at 6,000, and guessing that about 2,000 of the VX220s were turbo or NA. Another said it was about 6,000 Speedsters and 3,000 VX220s. They disagree with each other, and neither gave a source. When asked where the figures came from, the thread ended without an answer.
- UK registrations. One owner said 1,219 NAs were registered in the UK and that turbos were nearer 2,000. He didn't say where this came from.
- Written off. One owner pointed out that some cars would already have been written off, so the number on the road is lower.
- The plan. For context, the development story says Lotus announced in 1999 that it would build 2,000 Opel Speedsters and 1,000 VX220s a year at Hethel.
Build numbers by model (2009 thread)
In 2009 a business owner researching a product asked for worldwide production and found that the figures had been posted in an earlier thread. The numbers quoted there are in the table. They are labelled as estimates, with no source, and the VXR figure carries a question mark in the original.
| Model | Worldwide | UK (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| VX220 NA | 4,500 | 2,750 |
| VX220 LY | 100 | 100 |
| VX220 Turbo | 4,500 | 2,750 |
| VXR220 | 65 (or 62?) | 65 (or 62?) |
These add up to about 9,165 worldwide, which is not far off the 10,000 total quoted earlier, but that 10,000 was said to include the Speedsters, and these figures don't. The table also doesn't fit the 2007 guesses of 3,000 to 4,000 VX220s against 6,000 Speedsters. Another owner in 2009 recalled seeing about 6,000 in the UK and thought about 2,000 of the VX220s were still on the road. The figures can't all be right, and we don't know which, if any, is. The original poster of the 2009 thread said only that the VXR number was "65ish".
Colours as of December 2003
One owner posted this table, saying it was as of December 2003 and that "after that" he didn't know. He didn't give a source or say whether it is UK or worldwide, and it includes names such as "Yellow 1" and "Yellow 2" without saying which yellows they are. The counts add up to 6,124, which matches the percentages he gave.
| Colour (as posted) | Cars | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Silver | 2,605 | 42.5% |
| Calypso Red | 788 | 12.9% |
| Europa Blue | 619 | 10.1% |
| Black | 611 | 10.0% |
| Yellow 1 | 256 | 4.2% |
| Brilliant Yellow | 220 | 3.6% |
| Mandarin | 208 | 3.4% |
| Rabiata Red | 188 | 3.1% |
| Chagall Blue | 177 | 2.9% |
| Yellow 2 | 144 | 2.4% |
| British Racing Green | 103 | 1.7% |
| Moonland | 71 | 1.2% |
| Dolphin Blue | 31 | 0.5% |
| Le Mans Green | 29 | 0.5% |
| Titan Gold | 29 | 0.5% |
| Colmar Blue | 19 | 0.3% |
| Petrol | 13 | 0.2% |
| Switch | 13 | 0.2% |
Several owners were surprised that silver was so high. They said silver cars seemed to be in the minority at meets, and red, blue and yellow looked more common. One wondered if the early NA was only offered in silver, which would explain the share (he didn't know). Someone else said that when they were looking in 2007 they could have had three silver, three red and two yellow cars that met their needs in the time it took to find a Europa Blue one. One poster said yellow cars were worth about £500 less. That is a 2007 remark.
Odd facts from the thread
- The first VX220 off the line was said to be Mandarin ("apparently", one owner said).
- One owner mentioned 100 cars of a special edition he abbreviated to "LY", and said his was number 74. The 2009 table also gives 100 for the LY. Neither thread says what the letters stand for.
- Other special editions named: the VXR, and a "Scorpions" edition. See which VX220 to choose for the models.