Team Builds 200th 818 Sports Car Chassis!

[Dave Smith]

Less than a year ago on June 15th, we shipped our very first production 818 chassis kit. Since then, the company has committed to a carefully planned and well executed production ramp-up. We are now building at a current production rate of one chassis per day, and slowly bringing lead times down (at one point, it was over a year).

Today was a big milestone as the team had production chassis #200 in the chassis assembly area!

200 chassis is a great accomplishment, and customers are doing their part as a ton of cars are getting registered, driven, and raced in this first year of production. The other day, I called my Rhode Island vehicle inspector to schedule a inspection of my personal Hot Rod (to register)… I was told by the state police person that he had just inspected and registered a Factory Five 818 for one of our customers! It’s cool to see so many cars driving so soon after we launched the car.

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Dave Smith, Tony Zullo, and Nate Johnson join chassis assembly experts Fred Allen and Craig Barkhouse.

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Factory Five 818S chassis #200 passes through the chassis assembly area today, May 15, 2014.

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The 818 molds have evolved and improved, and the design has benefited from ongoing upgrades both in-house and from customers building and driving their cars.

[AZPete]

Congrats to all at Factory Five!!

[Maximus]

Congratulations!! I am so excited to be placing my order soon. I am curious about the evolution of the 818 production/ongoing upgrades. Is there any chance we can hear about some of these? Will there be a true "MkII" down the road or will this continual evolution occur over the years? Cheers!

[sponaugle]

Wow 200 cars.. that is pretty amazing. Congratulations guys!

I wonder how many are on the road now.. 20-30?

Jeff

[Mad Dog]

Jeff,

Considering that the bulk of the 200 cars shipped recently (we ramped up production from 1 per week in June, 2 per week in July, 3 per week in September, and by November we had reached capacity of 5 per week), the fact that there so many 818s on the road is pretty impressive as well, and I think more cars are coming every day. I'll try to post photos that we get, but I'm sure they'll be shared on the forum by the owners as well.

[Jaime]

There must be a ton in the pipeline - I just picked up #177 five days ago.

[Mad Dog]

Jamie, We usually call for collections 2 weeks out, so it actually makes sense that we have 2-3 weeks of cars in WIP (work-in-process), at a production of 5 per week, that is 10-15 cars in staging areas and finished goods whse.

[AZPete]

Jamie, We usually call for collections 2 weeks out, so it actually makes sense that we have 2-3 weeks of cars in WIP (work-in-process), at a production of 5 per week, that is 10-15 cars in staging areas and finished goods whse.

. . . plus all the other models in production. I don't know how you find the space! Amazing company.

[longislandwrx]

I was told by the state police person that he had just inspected and registered a Factory Five 818 for one of our customers!

Metalmaker's making the rest of us look bad.

[billjr212]

Congrats! That is awesome!

Although based on my extremely advanced math skills this means I'll land somewhere between chassis #212 (which I was hoping to luck in to) and the next milestone of #300. (September 6 production date). That's fine by me, I'll love #288 (semi-official guess) all the same.

[WIS89]

Another milestone in a company full of milestones! Congratulations to the entire team for making this all happen, while simultaneously pumping out all the other awesome rides.

There always seems to be a great deal to be proud of at Factory Five; well done everyone!

Regards,

Steve

[Doowop]

very cool Dave. Do you have any numbers on out of the 200 how many S vs R model. I'd be interested to know. Thanks'

[Tamra]

Congrats on a big milestone! We can't wait for our 818 due at the end of October... our best guess is #320 if production keeps up.

[wallace18]

So cool that the car is selling so well. I am fortunate to be among the first few to finish one. Truly a great car both in looks and performance. Looking forward to picking up my next FFR kit in June. See you guys then. Keep up the great work!

29137

[matteo92065]

Ohhhhh..... I think I'm going to get number 200. The timing is just about right. ;)

[mikeb75]

Ohhhhh..... I think I'm going to get number 200. The timing is just about right. ;)

My chassis is also being built this week. Can't wait to see if I win the lotto