The name may mean little to some of you, yet if I mention the film it starred in, Back to the Future, you'll all go "oh yes, the time-traveling machine!" The original 1985 blockbuster movie will certainly go into the Hollywood Hall of Fame, and yet in truth, the history behind the vehicle itself is perhaps far more interesting. The president of the company charged with drug trafficking, a £100 million loss for the British government, and even wasted investments by the likes of Johnny Carson and Sammy Davis Jr highlight this automotive fiasco.
Production of the famous stainless steel paneled, gull-wing sports car began in January 1981 at the DeLorean Motor Company's plant in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. Owner, John DeLorean, employed William T. Collins (previously a Chief Engineer at Pontiac) to build his first prototype which was completed in 1976. However, it took several more years to source the financing required for full-scale production to begin. A sum of £100 million came from the Northern Ireland Development Agency, with the rest coming from private investors including the two famous figures mentioned earlier.
The vehicle was designed chiefly for the U.S. market and almost straight away, ran into problems. The car's rear-mounted powerplant was to be a Citroen-built Wankel rotary engine, yet had to be replaced with a PRV (Peugeot Renault Volvo) 2.8L V6 due to poor fuel economy, an important consideration at a time of worldwide fuel shortages. The V6 developed 130 hp in the U.S.
Much of the technology used in the making of the DMC-12 was untested and several alterations took place in the early stages of production. This brought Colin Chapman of Lotus fame into the picture, and he immediately set about making those changes.
Approximately 9,000 DMC-12s were made before production halted in 1982 and of that number, only 6,500 are believed to still exist.
The DeLorean Motor Company went bankrupt in late 1982 following John DeLorean's arrest in October of that year on drug trafficking charges. He was later found not guilty, but it was too late for the DMC-12 to remain in production. The British government and several others lost their investment in what was considered by many to be one the world's greatest automotive fiascos.
However, in 1995 using the "DeLorean Motor Company" name, Texas entrepreneur Stephen Wynne started a company assembling cars from new original stock (NOS) parts, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and reproduction parts on a "made to order" basis using existing VIN plates. As these vehicles utilize existing vehicle identification numbers, they are considered re-manufactured rather than brand new vehicles.
The Back to the Future (I, II, & III) film series used seven DMC-12s during the course of the trilogy, and it's said that only three vehicles have survived since filming ended. A replica of the movie car recently came up for auction and ended up selling for just $55,000. (update: a few days after the publication of this article, a privately-owned DeLorean used in the third installment of the BTTF trilogy was auctioned off for $541,000US.)
When you consider that most used DeLoreans typically fetch between $15-30k, that doesn't sound like a lot of money for a time-travel machine. Then again, this is 2011 and the world is suffering a bit of a financial depression. Of course, if the new owner fiddles with enough switches on the dashboard, he may be able to travel back to a time when these vehicles were worth much more!
Production of the famous stainless steel paneled, gull-wing sports car began in January 1981 at the DeLorean Motor Company's plant in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. Owner, John DeLorean, employed William T. Collins (previously a Chief Engineer at Pontiac) to build his first prototype which was completed in 1976. However, it took several more years to source the financing required for full-scale production to begin. A sum of £100 million came from the Northern Ireland Development Agency, with the rest coming from private investors including the two famous figures mentioned earlier.
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| Photo: profilesinhistory.com |
The vehicle was designed chiefly for the U.S. market and almost straight away, ran into problems. The car's rear-mounted powerplant was to be a Citroen-built Wankel rotary engine, yet had to be replaced with a PRV (Peugeot Renault Volvo) 2.8L V6 due to poor fuel economy, an important consideration at a time of worldwide fuel shortages. The V6 developed 130 hp in the U.S.
Much of the technology used in the making of the DMC-12 was untested and several alterations took place in the early stages of production. This brought Colin Chapman of Lotus fame into the picture, and he immediately set about making those changes.
Approximately 9,000 DMC-12s were made before production halted in 1982 and of that number, only 6,500 are believed to still exist.
The DeLorean Motor Company went bankrupt in late 1982 following John DeLorean's arrest in October of that year on drug trafficking charges. He was later found not guilty, but it was too late for the DMC-12 to remain in production. The British government and several others lost their investment in what was considered by many to be one the world's greatest automotive fiascos.
However, in 1995 using the "DeLorean Motor Company" name, Texas entrepreneur Stephen Wynne started a company assembling cars from new original stock (NOS) parts, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and reproduction parts on a "made to order" basis using existing VIN plates. As these vehicles utilize existing vehicle identification numbers, they are considered re-manufactured rather than brand new vehicles.
The Back to the Future (I, II, & III) film series used seven DMC-12s during the course of the trilogy, and it's said that only three vehicles have survived since filming ended. A replica of the movie car recently came up for auction and ended up selling for just $55,000. (update: a few days after the publication of this article, a privately-owned DeLorean used in the third installment of the BTTF trilogy was auctioned off for $541,000US.)
When you consider that most used DeLoreans typically fetch between $15-30k, that doesn't sound like a lot of money for a time-travel machine. Then again, this is 2011 and the world is suffering a bit of a financial depression. Of course, if the new owner fiddles with enough switches on the dashboard, he may be able to travel back to a time when these vehicles were worth much more!