I was just wondering, given that the tortoise Pelikan Souverans seem so popular and desirable, why doesn't Pelikan make them anymore? Does anyone have any idea? I'm just curious.

Believe it or not, it's because they do not, on the whole (as opposed to within the pen community) sell very well.

I believe you. It is surprising, though. The tortoise strike me as much prettier than the other colors. Thanks!

Well, the green striped Pelikan (no matter which size) is THE Pelikan classic for most fountainpen users. It was the one I was dreaming of for years until I got my first M400.

Never ever it would have crossed my mind to buy another pen than the green striped. Nearly 2 decades and several green Pelikans later I got my first tortoise 400NN. They are indeed beautiful. But the M400 looks boring compared to the vintage tortoise pens. And for some reasons I cannot explain the M400 tortoise (pre 97) shows some wear of the Stresemann the greenstriped M400 and the vintage 400/400NN tortoise do not.

Now I have a bluestriped and a redstriped M400, too. They are beautiful but don't see much use. My daily Pelikan is still greenstriped - or sometimes black - after all those years of Pelikan use.


Edited because I hit the return button by accident before I had finished my post

I agree that the old Tortoise 400nn's are more beautiful than the more recent tortoise M400's but both pale in comparison to the modern M450. Alas, that pen is a bit too far outside my budget limit. Unfortunately, Pelikan made a design blunder (in my opinion) with the white Tortoise M400. If they'd made that with a black cap and knob, it would have been a sure hit.

A blunder I'm glad they made. I like the combination of creamy white with the tortoise stripe. It's very striking, and different from the common black cap.