Thanks for that... I have read that the options can make a difference....I am contacting the lease company tomorrow to knock the options off to see if that makes a difference .... Hopefully it will ... otherwise its a cancelled order and a BMW 1 MSport which can be delivered in 10 weeks. Not my 1st choice though 
In my opinion options won't make a difference, especially on a long lead time since that just gives them more time to get the various parts. What has happened is they have opened the order books before the factory was ready and now they have a huge backlog that just gets longer as time goes on. BTW, I got my car from BMW in 4 weeks order placed to driving out of the showroom so I'd expect much better than 10 if I were you.
In answer to the question of have they restricted production too much this time I'd say absolutely yes. I was all set to become a long term VW and GTI customer, as a result of my ordering experience, the high price they ask, and finally the long list of reliability issues, VW and their related companies have joined the list of companies I will not do business with.
FYI: Vodafone is the other current member of that list. Do not use Vodafone. I signed a 24 month contract with them for their 360 service. For the first 3 months it didn't work, for 6 months it was partially working. They then cancelled the service but expected me to continue to pay the remaining contract anyway. Months of calls and emails and threats (they made the threats) eventually led them being "generous" and ending the "contract" "early" but as far as I'm concerned they stole hundreds of pounds without providing the service they promised and so they still owe me. Do NOT do business with them. Imagine if VW called to say they're no longer making the GTI but they're going to give you a 10 year old 1.2 Polo but still take £30k off you since you are contractually obliged to pay them whatever they want, its in the small print. Vodafone = thieving bastards.
