DeLorean is the ultimate example of automotive hubris. Founded by ex-GM executive John DeLorean, the DMC-12 promised to revolutionize the sports car. With its unpainted stainless steel body and gull-wing doors, it looked like a spaceship. But plagued by a weak engine and a drug scandal, it died instantly—only to be resurrected by Hollywood.
Explore the current production vehicles.
The car that became a time machine. The DMC-12 is an automotive icon, a Giugiaro-designed masterpiece with its signature gullwing doors and unpainted stainless-steel body. It is a symbol of 80s futurism and one of the most recognizable cars on the planet.
The legend, reborn for the electric age. The Alpha5 is a stunning, all-electric luxury GT from the modern DeLorean Motors Reimagined. It honors the past with its gullwing doors and louvers while rocketing the brand into a high-performance, electric future.
The genesis of the legend. The first prototype was a Giugiaro-penned concept that established the iconic wedge shape and stainless-steel look, but with a different chassis and engine. It is the 'what-if' first draft of the car that would become a global icon.
Author
HugeGarage Editor
Published
Updated
John DeLorean was the closest thing Detroit had to a rockstar in the 1960s. He created the Pontiac GTO and the Muscle Car era. But he wanted more. He left General Motors to build his ethical, safe, and long-lasting sports car: The DMC-12.
He built a factory in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, in the middle of a conflict zone, securing massive government subsidies. It was a bold move that set the stage for one of the most dramatic collapses in business history.
The look of the DeLorean is timeless. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, it features sharp angles and a wedge profile.
The original prototype was an engineering mess. In a panic, DeLorean hired Colin Chapman of Lotus to re-engineer the entire car in record time. The production DMC-12 sits on a double-Y backbone chassis, very similar to the Lotus Esprit. This gave the car surprisingly good handling, even if it was heavy.
The tragedy of the DeLorean is that it looked faster than a Ferrari but was slower than a minivan. The engine was the PRV V6 (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo). It was a 2.85-liter engine producing a pathetic 130 HP in US spec.
With a 0-60 time of nearly 10 seconds (for the automatic), it was embarrassing. John DeLorean had originally wanted a rotary engine or a turbo, but time and budget constraints forced them to settle for the PRV.
By 1982, the company was bankrupt. In a desperate attempt to save it, John DeLorean was caught in an FBI sting operation involving a suitcase full of cocaine (he was later acquitted due to entrapment, but his reputation was ruined). The company died.
Three years later, Back to the Future was released. Doc Brown said, "The way I see it, if you're gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?" The movie turned a failed automotive product into an immortal pop culture icon.
DeLorean is a triumph of design over substance. As a sports car, it is objectively badâunderpowered, heavy, and possessing questionable build quality. But as an object of desire? It is unbeatable. Driving a DeLorean makes you a celebrity in a way that driving a Lamborghini never will.
The DMC-12 features body panels made of brushed SS304 automotive-grade stainless steel. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the intention was to create a car that would never rust and needed no paint.
Owners clean the car with glass cleaner and baby oil. Minor scratches can actually be removed by "sanding" the car with a non-metallic abrasive pad (like Scotch-Brite) to blend the grain pattern.
The DeLorean is powered by the PRV V6 (Peugeot-Renault-Volvo) engine.
It is a 2.85-liter SOHC V6 mounted in the rear. While reliable, it was criticized for producing only 130 horsepower in US-spec trim. This resulted in a 0-60 mph time of roughly 10 seconds, which was considered slow even for the early 1980s given the car's exotic looks.
Yes. The rights to the brand are currently owned by the DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) based in Humble, Texas.
Originally a parts and restoration company, they have announced the DeLorean Alpha5, an all-electric 2+2 grand tourer with gullwing doors. It is designed to pay homage to the original DMC-12 while offering modern supercar performance.
The heavy stainless steel doors are supported by a complex system involving cryogenically preset torsion bars and gas-charged struts.
The torsion bars (made by Grumman Aerospace) actually twist to lift the door's weight. Surprisingly, the doors require less side clearance (only 11 inches) to open than a standard car door, making them practical for tight parking spaces.
Yes. As part of a promotion with American Express in 1980, gold card members could purchase a 24-karat gold-plated DeLorean for $85,000.
Only three were officially produced (plus one built later from spare parts). Two of the originals are currently in museums (Petersen Museum and National Auto Museum), making them the rarest and most valuable DeLoreans in existence.
This was not a choice by John DeLorean, but a federal mandate. In 1979, the NHTSA required all speedometers to cap at 85 mph to discourage speeding during the energy crisis.
This regulation was repealed shortly after, but all original 1981-1983 DeLoreans left the factory with the 85 mph speedometer, leading to the joke that you can't tell if you've hit 88 mph for time travel.
The styling was by Italdesign, but the engineering was heavily reworked by Colin Chapman of Lotus.
Because the original prototype chassis was too weak, Lotus redesigned the car to use a VARI (Vacuum Assisted Resin Injection) fiberglass underbody bolted to a steel backbone chassis, very similar to the Lotus Esprit. This gave the car surprisingly good handling despite the heavy engine.
Technically yes, but it is considered sacrilege by purists. The stainless steel surface is difficult for paint to adhere to without heavy sanding and primer.
However, a few factory cars were painted red, black, or yellow by dealers in the early 80s to help move inventory when sales stalled. These "painted DeLoreans" generally trade for lower prices than clean stainless examples.
Surprisingly, no. When the factory in Northern Ireland closed, millions of spare parts were left behind.
The current DeLorean Motor Company in Texas purchased this massive inventory. You can still buy almost every part of the car New Old Stock (NOS), from door skins to engines, making the DeLorean one of the easiest orphan cars to maintain.
The collapse was a "perfect storm" of the 1982 recession, exchange rate fluctuations, and poor build quality on early units.
Desperate for funding to keep the factory open, founder John DeLorean was entrapped in an FBI cocaine trafficking sting. Although he was later acquitted of all charges (due to entrapment), the scandal destroyed the brand's reputation and financing, forcing liquidation.