I know I'm entering this thread a little late but I am the owner of an early Rotus. Chassis #0000000014. I purchased the car from Soldierboy a year or so ago. From the plethora of literature I got with the car, mine was one of the first to be sold to a customer and was used for ads early on. I actually had a deposit on one in the early 80s and test drove one in Hagerstown at Chris's shop. If it had been produced in a timely manor I would have had one then but delays occurred and my finances, which were a bit light at best back then, necessitated me to bail out of the deal. After much discussion Chris agreed on the refund of the deposit. My current car was equipped with a Toyota 2TG OHC hemi which had been "punched out" from 1600 to just below 2000cc. Since owning the car it's been a mixed bag. Since the engine is extremely rare in the U.S. parts are generally made of unobtainium. When I can find them they are usually in Japan or Australia (?). The trump tax adds considerably to the price also. From what I can decipher from the records I have, the first owner of my car was Alec Lichtman who lived in Silver Spring, Maryland. Would love to continue to discuss Rotus with any one with like desires.
P.S. The story I got from Chris confirms the Japanese mispronouncing of the letter "L".