Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. Bentley Mulliner. Q By Aston Martin. And now, Lotus Chapman Bespoke. What do these have in common? If you’re an affluent car buyer with very specific tastes, these factory-based services will build a custom vehicle to suit your desires, whatever they might be.
Lotus has officially joined the bespoke party with Lotus Chapman Bespoke, named for company founders Colin and Hazel Chapman. As with other custom services at high-end automakers, buyers not satisfied with standard choices on things like paint or trim can work with Lotus to create something unique. That process could be as simple as looking at a predetermined palette of colors and combining them, or coming in with your own ideas and asking the company to make it happen.
Specifically, there are three levels of Lotus Chapman Bespoke. Tailor-made involves the aforementioned palette, providing buyers with an expanded choice of colors and designs to choose from. Lotus further says Tailor-made choices can be finished with some “exclusive personal touches” to make it extra special. Collection is the next tier, comprising of limited-edition designs. Lotus explains these could be created through various artists or partnerships with other brands. The big tamale is One-off, where buyers tell Lotus what they want. That can be colors, trims, materials, special badging—pretty much anything your heart desires.
“Many of our customers are looking for a bespoke experience; be that color, texture, fabric, detail,” said Lotus Vice President of Design Ben Payne. “And we are excited to see their individuality stamped on our cars around the world.”
For the immediate future, that customization is limited to China. Lotus Chapman Bespoke will roll out there first, starting on April 25. The company will then expand the service to other markets in the months that follow.
“The story of Lotus is the story of a bespoke carmaker,” said Lotus CEO Qingfeng Feng. “The first cars were hand-drawn and hand-built at home by Colin Chapman, and that spirit lives on in us today.”
Lotus doesn’t offer a pricing structure for the various bespoke services, which isn’t surprising considering we’re talking about custom work. Other brands with in-house customization teams seldom mention prices, though we’ve seen Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur custom paint options in online configurators costing as much as $30,000.
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